Anything For You
by bladeofthebookworms
Summary: Calamity Ganon's defeat nearly killed Link a second time. Yet Zelda knows that Ganon could still return if Link decides not to fight again. Already she has unknowingly taken much from her hero - perhaps too much. His life, his memories, his heart, his voice... But he is willing to sacrifice everything for her, even if he has no more left to give... "I'd do anything for you."
1. Chapter 1

**Originally I was going to post a hopefully sweet little Zellink story (nevertheless with a great deal of violence) this month, for Valentine's Day and everything. Then I changed my mind and started writing this one, intending it to be a rather lighthearted story about what would happen if Link decided to live with bokoblins indefinitely with the bokoblin mask. No romance or violence whatsoever. And as I was writing that story, it evolved into this one. Definitely Zellink, definitely violent (which is why it's rated T), and nothing really about bokoblins at all.**

 **But it** ** _does_** **feature a certain dragon...**

 **-==]I[==-**

* * *

 **Anything for You**

* * *

 **-==]I[==-**

"Link! Look up there! That's the very core of Ganon's being! Do what you must, Link!"

 _Element shifted restlessly beneath him. Link swallowed tightly, eyes narrowed as he stared up at the beam of light shooting from a massive eye of Malice embedded in Ganon's brow. "I'm on it," he muttered, digging his heels into Element's fiery chestnut sides. With a low snort the powerful mare lunged forwards, hooves tearing mercilessly at the damp grass. Sheets of rain poured from the sky, but they could not conceal Ganon's shining core from Link's eyes. Gripping his horse's sides with his knees, he pulled the bowstring back as an arrow of light magically formed, already nocked and ready._

 _He aimed carefully and fired, just as Element plunged down a shallow dip in the ground; the arrow flew too wide and they cantered past Ganon's forelegs. Gritting his teeth, Link pulled Element to a halt and gently wheeled her around, spurring her once more into a raging gallop. The instant they came out in front of Ganon's legs… he would fire again, and he would not miss._

 _It happened in an instant that felt like forever. Element bolted past Ganon's left foreleg just as the monstrous beast took a step forward with that same leg, hoof crashing down a mere few paces from the horse and the hero. A tremor shook the ground; Element lost her footing and stumbled, her body rolling sideways. Link leapt from her back, keeping his legs from getting crushed beneath her chest._

 _Sudden flaming agony shattered his chest. His lips parted in a soundless scream._

 _Hot blood streamed down his chest. He felt as if he'd been split open, as if a bolt of lightning had taken residence right in the middle of his torso. His vision waverd. Blearily he realized that he was slumped forward against a jagged, ancient fence post slick with blood - his blood._

 _His vision wavered. His heart pounded. Again an irrepressible scream bubbled from deep in his soul, but there was no sound._

 _Tears mixed with the rain on his cheeks. He couldn't move; he couldn't speak and could barely think. His breaths came quickly, in jagged, uneven bursts as his eyes slipped closed for the briefest moment._

 _He didn't know how long he remained there where he'd landed, pressed against the splintered fencepost that had nearly impaled him. It was the voice that drew him halfway out of the raw pain throbbing up and down his chest… Zelda's voice. Calling his name. Afraid. Desperate._

Anything… for you, Princess…

 _With a groan that carried none of his voice with it, he pushed himself away from the fencepost and flopped onto his back, facing the dark clouds above. Rain pelted down on him, shards of glass burning the gaping wound up his torso. He cried out from the pain, this time dimly realizing that something was horribly wrong as no sound escaped his throat yet again._

 _But that could wait._

 _Ganon was still there._

Bow… of Light… _Link thought groggily, pushing himself to his side and forcing himself to sit up. The divine weapon lay in the grass a few feet away; clenching his teeth tightly against the pain he leaned forward and crawled through the mud towards it. His senses flickered in and out, warning of the abyss to come; all at once he found his hands curled tightly around the Bow. Shuddering as waves of pain and fatigue shuddered over his body, he pulled the bowstring back to his cheek with another silent cry, the action stretching the ragged edges of the wound. His eyes watered; he aimed carefully and fired._

 _This time the Light arrow flew true._

 _And Link succumbed to the darkness and agony that consumed him._

* * *

 **-==]I[==-**

* * *

Link jerked awake, shuddering, perspiration soaking his undershirt and trousers, sticking them to his skin. A shout lingered in his throat - a shout that was little more than a whoosh of air.

He grimaced, struggling to swallow from the dryness in his throat.

Merciful Din… his _throat._

His fingers travelled up to his bandaged neck. There, still not quite healed from the last battle with the Calamity, was the massive gash stretching from the bottom of the left side of his rib cage all the way up to the bottom of the right side of his chin. Weeks had passed… weeks he'd spent, for the most part, unconscious. After coming to at last, he'd been told that one of his ribs had been torn out and his vocal cords had been irrevocably damaged by the fencepost he'd been all but impaled upon. An inch deeper, so the healers said, and he would have died in a matter of moments.

Now, in the aftermath of the dream that had forced him to relive that night, the wound seemed to pulse and throb beneath the bandages. Link gulped again, curling up on his side and closing his eyes tightly. Despite the calm ambience of Kakariko Village, the sound of chirping frogs wafting in through the inn's open window, It would be difficult to find any more sleep that night.

The sound of light footsteps jerked his eyes open once again. A floorboard creaked just outside of his door, and the footsteps went silent. Link held his breath, one hand snaking to the dagger beneath his pillow as he tried to remember just where he'd put the Master Sword.

The soft footsteps continued, fading away from his doorway. Link relaxed, relieved for a moment, until the memory of the Princess and the Yiga Clan shot through his mind. _Just because they're not after me doesn't mean they aren't after her,_ he realized with cold dread, slipping silently out of bed and snatching the Master Sword from its resting place resting messily against his travelling supplies.

Carefully he eased the door open and peered out into the hall. Kakariko's inn wasn't particularly large; there were perhaps four or five rooms in addition to the one Link had rented.

Zelda's was one of those. And her door was slightly ajar.

Heart hammering wildly with unease, he stole silently through the shadows and peered cautiously inside.

She wasn't there.

Sudden cold seized his heart; the sweat still damp on his body chilled him to the bone. His mouth dry, he turned back the way he'd come, slipping quickly past the front desk and out into the night.

" _Zelda,"_ he tried to call out, once again reminded of what had been stolen from him. Wincing, he padded barefoot over the loose soil forming the main road through the village. With growing panic he looked around, praying that he wasn't too late, that she wasn't gone -

There.

His shoulders sagged in relief. Zelda stood in her nightgown before the village Goddess statue, her head bowed. Wearing the white, flowing dress, Link thought with a blush that she looked like a goddess herself, the very embodiment of goodness and purity.

Slowly, hesitantly, he approached her. Unable to announce his presence, he kicked a small stone and sent it skittering across the little wooden bridge to the statue. Zelda turned, her green eyes emanating worry even through the shadows of the night.

"Link," she greeted him with a soft smile, though it didn't quite reach her gaze. "You couldn't sleep?"

Link shrugged, opening his mouth to explain before remembering he couldn't.

She glanced over his body before returning her focus to his face. "Do you have any nightclothes? They're certain to be far more comfortable, which may perhaps help you sleep better…"

Link blushed. There was a reasonable explanation, of course - should an attack occur in the dead of night, as they often were, it would be far simpler to throw on a suit of chainmail over an undershirt specifically designed to keep his skin from chafing than a thin sleeping shirt. And it was certainly easier to belt his quiver to his waist when he was already wearing trousers with belt loops.

Comfort wasn't something he looked for in life.

He shrugged again, despising the fact that it was the only answer he could give. _What about you?_ he yearned to ask. _Why are you out here all alone?_

Thinking quickly, he gestured to the statue of Hylia and looked at her expectantly, hoping that his actions could convey the message well enough.

She chuckled softly, turning her gaze away from him and towards the heavens. "Certainly it must seem odd for me to be up and about at this hour. I haven't felt like I could truly get enough sleep since Ganon was defeated. I suppose not sleeping for a century would do that to me…"

Link fought to keep the guilt from rising in his soul. The thought of what she had been doing all that time, while he…

He'd practically died. The injuries he'd sustained were moments from taking his life when he'd been placed into a state of stasis, wounds so grievous, in fact, that it had taken a hundred years for them to heal enough for the Shrine to decide it time to wake him back up.

But all the facts about what had happened to him couldn't change his mind. He'd been _sleeping_ while Zelda fought for a hundred years. It was a wrong that he longed to right with every fiber of his being. _Anything for you, Princess._

Zelda's sigh drew him out of his thoughts. "Nevertheless, the fact remains that I… I don't think I will be able to find any more rest tonight." She sucked in a deep breath and held it, something Link did when preparing himself for something painful. "I… I had a dream. Similar to one that I had before the Calamity struck, but… clearer, somehow. Not as vague. Perhaps because I've awakened my powers…"

Icy fingers of dread curled around Link's heart and he waited in suspense for her to continue. _But Ganon's gone! What more could possibly…_

 _The Yiga Clan?_

All at once she whirled around to meet his gaze, her face a grimace of fear and fatigue. "This isn't finished," she explained, wringing her hands anxiously. "I was shown that traces of Malice remain in Hyrule, and if the Yiga managed to harvest enough of it, I fear that they could resurrect Ganon."

Link felt winded at the thought. _Worse than the Yiga Clan._ Ganon had been difficult enough to vanquish the _first time -_ so difficult that it had taken not one, but _two_ near-fatal attempts to finally defeat him.

The idea that he could return was blood-curdling.

"What do we..." Link grimaced, reaching unconsciously up to his chest, still bandaged beneath his undershirt. He was beginning to realize, when he automatically tried to respond vocally and found that he couldn't, that he spoke a good deal more than he thought he had.

Zelda bit her lip, looking at him with sorrow. "I'm so sorry, Link. One more time… slower?"

He nodded carefully, swallowing with difficulty. " _What do we do?"_ he mouthed slowly, pausing between each word.

Zelda scrunched her nose, thinking deeply. "I… I suppose I'm asking you to track down all silver-class monsters and kill them," she explained after few more seconds of hesitation. "Each of them carries a fragment of Ganon's power preserved in the very essence of their beings. If they survive, then he survives as well. We cannot let that happen - not after everything we've sacrificed to defeat him."

Link nodded. _Anything for you, Princess._ He wanted to ask her when she wanted him to begin; was she certain she'd be safe in Kakariko Village if anything should happen? What about the Yiga Clan?

But the words died in his throat and he grimaced again, pulling his hand away from his still-bandaged neck. " _I'll go now,"_ he mouthed, pointing to his horse grazing in front of the Kakariko Shrine.

The problem was… Zelda wasn't looking at him. Sighing, he reached out and tapped her shoulder lightly, shyly, and repeated his message when she turned around.

Again, as always, it took her a moment to understand. Her brow creased. "You won't wait until you're healed?"

" _The Yiga Clan won't wait,"_ he tried to explain, only to met with her blank stare. He tried again, slower, exaggerating each movement of his lips and trying to quell the rising sadness in his soul.

Not everyone possessed Zelda's patience. How many would turn him away? How many would he unwillingly isolate himself from?

He'd never been entirely comfortable around large groups of people, but the thought of complete isolation brought a lump to his throat.

"I'm sorry; I couldn't get that one," Zelda sighed, breaking away from his gaze. "Link, can you… can you write?"

He tilted his head. " _A little,"_ he mouthed, raising two fingers pinched together to help her understand. Growing up on a farm, trying to develop his combat skills as well as doing a good deal of the work with the livestock, education hadn't exactly been his mother's main priority for him. His father, knighted for his skill and not his heritage, was literate but hadn't spent much time at home. After Link had been accepted into the Royal Guard at the age of eleven, his father taught him the basics of the written Hylian language.

At least… he thought it was his father. All he had was the assumption that the shadowy glimpse of a man sitting beside him with parchment and a quill was the same man in armor walking up the rugged path to his childhood home.

Zelda's eyes brightened. "Come with me," she said excitedly, beckoning as she hurried back towards the inn. Link followed, his cheeks growing warm as she ushered her into her room. He hovered as close to the door as he could manage as with a shy smile she took the Sheikah Slate from the nightstand and tapped the screen several times before holding it out to him. "Just trace your finger over the screen to write," she instructed, although her voice was soft and hesitant, betraying her uncertainty about the best way to communicate with him.

 _ **The Yeeguh Clan won't wait,**_ he wrote, blushing a little as he looked over his spelling of 'Yiga.' Surely that was incorrect, but he truthfully didn't know how to spell it.

Zelda read his words quickly. "Another reason for you to stay," she said, her excitement quickly fading as the severity of the situation returned. "You killed Ganon - that makes you as much a target as I am, if not more so."

Link managed a lopsided grin. _**I know how to deal with them,**_ he reminded her, raising an eyebrow.

She frowned heavily, brows knit, avoiding his gaze. "I… _Link…_ oh, very well. If anyone can take care of themselves, it's you. But don't do anything… _reckless._ Especially while that wound is still healing."

He nodded his thanks and offered the Sheikah Slate back to her, but she shook her head.

"Keep it," she said. "It'll help you find all of the silver-class monsters, and if you need to communicate with anyone, you can use it for that, too…"

Link smiled at her, turning to leave. " _Thank you,"_ he mouthed, grateful when she understood immediately.

Zelda took a sudden half-step forward, bringing herself closer to him. Her cheeks flushed pink. "Just… be careful, alright?" she urged with concern. "Ganon might be gone, but I… er, the _kingdom…_ still needs its hero." With a quick intake of breath she closed the distance between them and pulled him into a gentle hug, pressing her face into the uninjured side of his neck. "Come back quickly," she whispered.

Link stood there for several moments after her door closed, trying to get his rocketing pulse under control. _Woah._

* * *

 **-==]I[==-**

* * *

Killing all of the silver monsters in Hyrule was certainly easier said than done. The Sheikah Sensor certainly helped, but truly the only way for Link to ensure that every last one of them was destroyed was to travel everywhere in the kingdom.

Everywhere.

On horseback.

And many of the monsters he encountered weren't even silver, so to save time he rode past them as fast as he could, rewarding his mare, Element, with apples packed with his gear for that very purpose.

Because of that, and because several monsters drove him off course, he stopped briefly in Akkala to purchase Kilton's monster masks.

It five months to the day of Ganon's defeat that Link began the journey back to Zelda waiting in Kakariko, having exterminated the last silver lizalfos in Gerudo Desert. He was exhausted, battered with small cuts and bruises, and dirty from so long on the road. Element was just as tired, though he'd done his best to keep her clean and uninjured.

At that point, his task complete, he finally decided to stop at the Gerudo Canyon stable to rest in an actual bed for once. Entirely drained of energy, he barely had the strength to drag his feet up to the counter.

"Er… welcome!" the stable master chortled uncertainly, regarding him with a critical eye. "How can we help you today?"

Link sighed heavily, glancing down at himself. He could understand the man's hesitance; his tunic had transformed from a deep maroon to a dusty gray, ripped and torn here and there. Old bandages stained with little splotches of dried blood curled around his body, mostly on his arms and legs, where his chainmail didn't reach. The leather armor over his chest was scratched and scuffed, and the soles of his boots had nearly worn through from all of his traveling. _I must look like a_ _nightmare._

 _"I -"_ Link stopped, wincing, once again reminded of his inability to speak. Fumbling slightly, he pulled out the Sheikah Slate and wrote, **Ca** **n I board my horse and get a place to sleep for the night?**

The man read the message, and his gaze fell to the thick line of the dark pink scar travelling down Link's neck and beneath his tunic. "O-of course," he said with a rather forced smile. "Twenty rupees for our regular bed and forty for the soft bed."

 _Any bed'll feel soft at this point,_ Link thought, digging in his pouch for a red rupee and placing it in the stable master's hand. He began to trudge inside, but the stable master stopped him with a raised hand. "Wait!" With another glance at the dirty hero and a slight wince, he added, "Please, sir, I must insist that you clean yourself up a bit before entering. This may be a stable, but we pride ourselves on cleanliness."

Link closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. He nodded glumly, heading to the little well near a cooking fire. Face flushed crimson with embarrassment, he patted off as much dust as he could before stripping to his underwear and filling a pail with water, scrubbing the dirt from his chest and arms, and cleaning his clothes to the best of his ability.

When he was finished, the water in the pail more closely resembled mud.

He slept until noon the following day and left without a word, eager to return to Zelda's side. As he travelled quickly over the Digdogg suspension bridge and felt high mountain walls close in around him once more, he felt an ache growing in his chest, entirely unrelated to the scar across his torso.

It had certainly not been a pleasant journey. A merciless slaughter of living, breathing creatures. It was true that they were evil creatures, evil creatures infected with the essence of possibly the most dangerous fiend in Hyrule's history. He could tell himself that he was putting them out of their misery, freeing their souls from Ganon, letting them find peace in death, if such a thing existed for monsters.

And yet… the sound of so many agonized groans, high-pitched squeals, rasping dying coughs, angry roars filled with regret and pain…

They would haunt his ears until the end of time.

 _Some hero,_ he thought bitterly. _I've caused so much pain…_

He wondered what he would do when he returned to Kakariko. With the silver monsters gone, only the Yiga Clan remained a threat. _Surely she won't have me kill_ them, _too…_

For the sound of so many human voices raised in dying agony at his hand… it would destroy him.

But… if it was what she wanted…

 _Anything for you, Princess._

* * *

 **-==]I[==-**

* * *

"They're gone?" Zelda gaped in disbelief. "All of them?"

Link nodded. **I wouldn't have returned if they weren't,** he assured her.

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said, clasping his forearm gently. She ran her eyes over his body again, head tilted curiously to the side. "And… I'm certainly relieved to see you in one piece as well." Her lips parted, as if to say something else, but her brow tightened and her gaze shifted to something just behind him. "Er… what exactly did you bring back?"

He turned to see her ogling the monster masks hanging from Element's saddle. With a small grin he hurriedly wrote on the Sheikah Slate. **There's a man named Kilton who studies monsters. He made these. They make the monsters think I'm one of them.**

Zelda blinked, eyes wide as she read his words. "Well… that certainly seems useful. If he mass-produced them, it would certainly decrease monster attacks on travellers…"

Link chuckled silently, ignoring the twinge of pain in his throat at the failed attempt to laugh. **And we'd have a kingdom full of bokoblin-people,** he reminded her, grinning as he imagined it.

Zelda's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Now _that_ would be interesting. Still, I must remember to investigate this man. Monsters have plagued Hyrule for millenia, but it seems that he has come astoundingly close to developing a solution. Further research might perhaps…" Her brow creased as her voice trailed off. "Sweet Nayru - I'm sorry. I know you're not exactly interested in such fields of research…"

Link shook his head urgently. **It's nice to have someone talking to me,** he assured her, caught off guard by the sudden sadness stealing over her gaze.

Slowly she reached out, gently brushing her fingers over the thick scar tissue, like the thin limb of a massive spider, poking out from the neck of his tunic. "I… there might be a way," she said tentatively. "It would be difficult, since your vocal cords are so severely damaged… but I could try to find a way…"

Link shook his head again. He didn't like to admit it, for in most things he preferred to be optimistic, but it truly was a hopeless cause. **I'd rather just try to let myself heal as much as possible and move on.**

He was stunned to see tears in his eyes. "I tried so hard to hear you speak before," she remembered. "I… I was delighted when you finally opened up to me. Earning your friendship in that way… it meant the world to me. And… and now…" She wiped her eyes and smiled grimly, moving on before he had the chance to write comforting words for her. "My goodness - I've gotten off-topic. I actually had something else I'd like you to do, if you're willing."

He blinked rapidly. _I'd do anything for you_.

"I can sense that there is still Malice in the kingdom," she explained. "I know it must sound mad, but - but I can _feel_ it, like the air is tainted. There's not much left, and it's all stemming from the same direction, so I believe that this is the last of it."

 **Where do I go?** Link scribbled hastily.

She read his words and met his gaze. "Mount Lanayru," she answered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the great comments, follows, and favorites! Your support means the world to me, and I hope you're willing to bear with me all the way to the end!**

 **I did think that I was going to post the next part on Valentine's Day. But… this story ended up being longer than I thought it would be (surprise, surprise!) and now it looks like it'll be four parts instead of three. So you'll get one for each week of February, which explains today's update!**

 **Warning: very gory violence ahead (something I'm beginning to realize is rather characteristic of what I write)!**

 **-==]II[==-**

* * *

 **Anything for You**

* * *

 **-==]II[==-**

And just like that, it was just him and Element travelling again.

He set out early the following morning, carefully thinking about the route he would take to Mount Lanayru. It wasn't particularly far from Kakariko, perhaps a day's journey at most through Lanayru Promenade. _With any luck, it'll be over by tonight,_ he thought, patting the travelling pack fastened to the back of his saddle to assure himself that he hadn't forgotten his Rito clothing.

The sun peered shyly through the thick forest enshrouding the Great Fairy fountain in the rugged hills behind the village. Carefully he guided Element in a wide circle around the fountain before returning to his planned course; he wanted to avoid that… that _creature_ at all costs. He hadn't had the heart to ignore their pleas for help, but nevertheless the four Great Fairies of Hyrule made him feel horribly uncomfortable. The way they looked at him with animalistic hunger, the way they stared just a tad too long…

Shaking his head clear of such nauseating thoughts, he turned his attention to the woodlands passing by. Pale morning light glittered on the dew-drenched leaves of colorful wildflowers and small bushes, and a symphony of birdsong graced the air, telling of peace and contentment. Link smiled, taking in a deep breath and letting his shoulders relax.

Rarely had he stayed the night at an inn or someone's house in his travels across Hyrule. Instead, he camped out in the wilderness, falling asleep to chirping crickets and the lonely howl of a wolf or the cry of an elk somewhere in the distance. In the morning he slowly drifted awake, guided by the birds. First there was only one voice, one song, as the first glimmer of dawn broke the horizon. And then… as wildlands awakened beneath the gentle touch of the sun, so too did the animals that lived within, filling the air with the sounds of their vibrant lives.

Despite the stress, sadness, and pain that often plagued his life, he always found himself able to find peace, for a little while at least, lying still in those early morning moments.

Ahead, the tip of Mount Lanayru was concealed by a bank of thick cloud. Again, Link patted the travelling pack bound to the back of his saddle, ensuring that it bulged with Rito-crafted winter clothing. He despised the cold and much preferred the gentle warmth of Hyrule Field on a summer day, wrapping him in a comforting embrace.

A smile tugged his lips at the thought of lying in such a field once his task was done and the last of Ganon's Malice was eradicated.

And for some reason, when he imagined it, Zelda was there too, her smile challenging the sun for the brightness it held…

Link's cheeks grew warm, and he quickly diverted his attention back to the matter at hand. Wild-born and tough though she was, Element could still get hurt if he wasn't careful. Eyes narrowed, he studied the terrain ahead, looking out for any broken cobblestones or loose stones… anything that could result in a twisted ankle or worse. Lanayru Promenade was in a state of ruin, after all, and… from what he could remember, it had been that way the century before as well. Not exactly the safest place to travel.

When he stopped in a sunny glade of aspens for a brief snack, the narrow ravine leading to the path up the mountain was within sight; just beyond he caught a glimpse of glittering snow. Already he could feel the bite of the cold emanating from the hulking peak, and the Master Sword seemed to hum against his back. _It senses the evil._

Sitting cross-legged in the soft grass, he tilted his head back to regard the mountain. He could almost make out a faint violent glow emanating from the very top, partially hidden by thick clouds. _So that's where it is._

He decided to change into the Rito clothing before it was too late and he was knee-deep in snow. Furtively glancing around, uncomfortable out in the open even though the only one around was his horse, he quickly pulled his tunic and trousers off of his body and snatched the Rito armor from his travelling pack. The trousers were thick and lined with fur, but they were heavy; he would sacrifice some speed for warmth.

The alternative was, of course, walking onwards with legs completely numb and prickling with cold.

The thick red sweater was something that reminded him, inexplicably, of what felt like home. He could picture himself on a stormy winter evening, wrapped in a blanket and a similar sweater, curled before the hearth. Safe. Comfortable.

 _But is it a memory, or is it just my imagination?_

Perhaps he would never know.

Quickly he strapped leather armor over his chest above the sweater and pulled thick gloves over his bracers. _Time to get this over with._

* * *

 **-==]II[==-**

* * *

For Element's safety, he left her at the base of the mountain, removing her bridle to allow her freedom to graze as he travelled. There was plenty of grass for her, and he'd killed the silver lynel living in the area months ago, so she would be safe from monsters.

Strapping his shield to his arm and fastening his quiver to his belt, he began the hike up the mountain. A worn path, parts of it stolen away by a blanket of snow and the crumbling grasp of time, spiralled steadily upwards around the peak. Since awakening from the Shrine of Resurrection, Link had never travelled in this area, but there was a distinct feeling of familiarity scratching at his mind as he trudged over the cold stone. _I've been here before,_ he thought.

It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling; he knew he had travelled a great deal before the Calamity. But it was frustrating, feeling the memories just out of reach, memories of seventeen years living in Hyrule, memories of friends and battles and family…

 _One day I'll remember,_ he told himself hopefully.

The day droned on, the sun masked by the thick blanket of clouds overhead. It was a steep climb, made more arduous by the snow rising up to his calves. With each breath, he sucked in great gasps of frozen air that burned his lungs and planted an ache in his chest. Even beneath his gloves and boots, his fingers and toes felt the bite of the frosty air, swiftly growing uncomfortably cold.

He continued up the slope, feet sliding occasionally in the thick layer of snow and ice shrouding the upper reaches of the mountain. His gaze, narrowed upon the ground beneath his feet, and his ears, occupied by the crunch of snow and rasp of wind and low puffs of his breath, did not alert him to the creature's presence until the path, lined by pillars of ice that had likely stood for millenia, levelled out.

His heart froze in his chest and he sucked in a startled gasp, instinctively stumbling backwards.

Well.

There it was.

The source of the Malice Zelda had sensed.

Link remembered how to breathe again, staring with wide eyes at the elegant creature draped around the tip of the mountain. Dark scales outlined by slowly pulsing violet light… Tall spinal horns forming a regal line from the base of the neck to the tip of the tail… A thick mane of blue-tinged spikes at the back of the skull, partially concealed by thick clumps of Malice…

It was a dragon. Link shuddered at the realization; he had never seen one so close, so still. Dinraal, flying high overhead, quickly soaring out of sight… Farosh, playing (for lack of a better word) in the waters of Lakes Floria and Hylia…

Which meant…

" _You're Naydra,"_ Link mouthed, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't speak.

She was Naydra… and yet, she could not be. Malice clung to her body, encasing it in murky, crimson-flecked fog; clouds of black breath rasped from her slightly parted jaws, and her eyes, an angry orange rimmed with green, betrayed pain and emptiness.

Link swallowed tightly, hesitantly walking closer. Sweet Farore - he'd never been so close to a dragon before. It was exhilarating; he shivered with awe. And yet it was horribly sad, to see what Ganon had done to such a noble creature. He coughed slightly, inhaling a bit of the black wisps of air hovering around her lithe body.

" _You have done well to find your way to this spring,"_ a soft voice murmured, filling the air around him. Link gasped and recoiled, looking frantically around and finding no one. _Did… was that…_ Naydra?

The voice laughed sadly. " _No, hero. The tongue of these spirits of Hyrule cannot be understand by your kind. However… as the mother of all Hylians, I do not veil my speech from you."_

Link's knees were suddenly too weak to hold himself up and he crumpled before the statue of Hylia nestled against the side of the mountain. His breath came and went in swift, panicked gasps; surely this could not be real.

" _Your senses do not deceive you, dear one. You who have overcome numerous trials… you see before you an attendant to the Spring of Wisdom. She is indeed Naydra, the blue spirit of Lanayru. This servant of mine has looked over the spirits of this land for ages, unknown to the world of man. However, the dreaded Malice unleashed by Calamity Ganon has possessed her body and reduced it to this state. You who have freed Hyrule from Ganon's grasp… free Naydra from this Malice. Show what your courage can achieve!"_

Link swallowed tightly, waiting. The voice of Hylia did not speak again, and slowly he found the strength to stand once again. With a deep breath he took another step closer to Naydra, and all at once, from the mass of Malice upon her brow, a bulging yellow eye flashed open, meeting Link's gaze with fury. Across the dragon's body, other eyes revealed themselves, each of them zeroing in on the hero in the snow.

 _Right, then. I can do this._ He slipped his bow from his back and strung it quickly before nocking an arrow and firing at the eye upon Naydra's brow. The dragon groaned and the clump of Malice dispersed, fading into evil black smoke; the other eyes snapped closed before he could fire again.

Hissing like a cobra prepared to strike, Naydra launched herself into the sky, eyes rolling madly as she spiralled upwards around the pillars of ice forming a crown at the mountain's crest. Link dashed after her, bow gripped tightly in his left hand as he darted up the spiraling path to the highest point on the mountain. He ran, keeping his eyes narrowed on the dragon circling above; the winter air and burned his heaving lungs.

The instant the eyes across her body flashed open again he loosed a second arrow, mercilessly impaling one of them. With an enraged roar, Naydra jerked violently to the side, diving away from him, down to the forested slopes below. The remaining eyes on her tail and chest closed once more; undulating like a ribbon in the wind she fled the mountaintop, far faster than a horse could run.

Link grit his teeth, slipping his travelling pack from his shoulders and digging inside for his paraglider. There was no choice but to fly after her and hope she stayed in one place long enough for him to land and fire another arrow.

He stepped to the edge of the mountain and launched himself over the edge, teeth tightly clenched at the familiar jolt in his stomach. In the wake of the powerful winds stirred by the dragon's angrily lashing tail, he sailed downwards, through the heavy banks of cloud, towards the treeline.

Naydra circled warily, glaring at him with bloodshot amber eyes, weaving above the pines as if daring him to come closer. A few feet above the snow-drenched mountainside, Link released the paraglider in one hand and dropped to the ground in a low crouch. Quickly he wedged it into the snow, preventing it from blowing away, and slipped his bow from his back.

He nocked an arrow. Naydra raised her head, releasing an angry roar. Her tail whipped back and forth; the Malice clinging to it clearly hampered her speed. Link aimed carefully, tracking the movement of her tail-tip, and fired, piercing the eye and leaving just one last clump of Malice remaining, clinging to the dragon's chest. Naydra hissed with fury that was not her own, suddenly abandoning the trees and flying up towards him, eyes burning. Link readied another arrow and aimed as she approached with the deceptive speed unique to her kind.

She was coming up fast; the instant she raised her head to avoid colliding with the mountainside it would be over. Link held his breath, a shard of moonlight glittering on the tip of his arrow. _So close… almost over..._

With a sharp screech she jerked violently to the side instead of upwards, her massive facial horns swinging out at him like massive icy claymores. Link gasped and stumbled backwards, slipping into the snow, bow still clasped in hand. Naydra reached out with one forepaw, too close, coming right for him. Desperate, Link fired at the Malice eye just as the four long talons closed around his torso like a bear trap, pinning his arms to his sides. Link yelped in silent surprise, jerking as her grip tightened. Naydra's low growl sounded above him; craning his neck he could see her soaring upwards, back to the top of the mountain.

And he heard a voice.

" _You will not succeed, hero."_

Link froze.

" _My servants will raise me, will bring me back, and I will have more power than ever before. You will fall…"_

His mouth went dry. It wasn't the dragon's voice, he was certain.

But… the Malice…

Twisting, struggling to move beneath the dragon's stifling grip, he could see that the last eye of Malice remained intact. And it was staring right at him.

A sinister laugh echoed across the mountainside. " _Your Princess never realized that I had another plan. After millenia of falling to your predecessors' pathetic hands, I came to realize that should I be victorious, I needed to fight fire with fire. Or, to your lowborn mind, I decided to meet your courage and_ her _wisdom with courage and wisdom of my own. Power alone was never enough, but when I utilize the cunning and endurance that the hero and princess always seem to favor, I find you quite literally in the palm of my hand."_

 _Ganon,_ Link realized with a violent tremor that had nothing to do with the temperature.

" _It is no coincidence that I imparted fragments of my soul into so many creatures. Bokoblins, moblins, lynels… I started out small, and finally managed to work myself up to_ this. _Not just corruption, but…_ possession."

" _No!"_ Link tried to cry out, struggling against Naydra's crushing grasp.

And it occurred to him then that just one of her talons was easily as thick as he was.

 _If she wanted me dead, I would be,_ he reasoned, wishing he could speak out against Ganon's voice. _So… she must still be in there somewhere, right? And I've almost gotten all of the Malice eyes…_

He twisted, struggling with numbing fingers to free just one arm.

" _I have made a great deal of progress,"_ Ganon laughed. " _But yet she resists. I've taken her body, but not her mind. One deed remains… One thing I could force her to do that would destroy her spirit entirely. Can you think of what that might be, O Chosen Hero?"_

All at once Naydra released him and he fell with a silent scream, landing hard with a slight crunching sound - an instant explosion of agony - on the small level area at the top of the mountain. Head swimming, pain radiating from his leg and arm, Link pushed himself into a sitting position and tried to stand. Fire shot through his knee and he fell back down with a soundless cry. Looking down, he couldn't see exactly what the damage was - the thick Rito clothing hid his leg from view.

But the way his limbs were hurting…

The sinister laugh echoed over the mountain once again as Naydra landed, tightly gripping the spires of ice piercing upwards as she lowered her head to regard him. " _Forcing her to destroy the man who came to save her would certainly be a step in the right direction,"_ Ganon sneered through the dragon's jaws. " _And then… perhaps I'll take her to Kakariko to end that pathetic Princess as well."_

Fury pierced Link's heart and he forced himself to his feet, wobbling slightly. The memory of Zelda sealing the Calamity away filled his mind's eye - Ganon was no match for her.

But… a dragon… a sacred creature…

Would Zelda even know to attack it? By the time she felt the Malice within Naydra's spirit, would it be too late?

 _I can't take that chance - this has to end here,_ he realized, feeling numb. _No matter what I have to do. It ends here! I won't let her fall!_

It didn't look good for him. A glance back down at the snow revealed that his bow had broken when he fell, crushed between his bones and the stone beneath. His right arm, his dominant arm, hung awkwardly from its socket and he knew it was dislocated; his humerus was, perhaps, broken as well. And his right knee… it felt as if it had shattered.

His only weapon was the Master Sword, but his usual fighting strategy - which required a good deal of light-footed, rapid movement - would be nearly impossible with his knee in… whatever condition it was. And he'd have to use his left hand.

 _Can't worry about that right now. I'll do_ anything _for her. For Zelda._

Naydra's head tilted to the side as she regarded him, Ganon peering through her eyes. " _I see it in your face, boy,"_ the Calamity sneered. " _This will be your final battle. You are in no condition to fight. Send your precious Goddesses my_ warmest _regards."_

With a roar, the dragon lunged at him. Her movements were slower, more sluggish than usual, but still far faster than any human. Link dived to the side, escaping her gaping maw by inches; she retracted her head and studied him, growling.

Hope burned Link's soul even as his knee and arm seemed to develop heartbeats all their own. Naydra was so large, and he so small - trying to catch him wouldn't be easy. _If I can just be fast enough!_

She lunged again and he rolled over the edge of the mountain, allowing himself to fall again for a heart-stopping moment before he landed hard on a small snowy ledge encircled by several gleaming ice pillars. Gritting his teeth against the pain he pushed himself upwards with his good arm, wedging himself between a block of ice and the cold black stone of the mountain. Sucking in a deep breath, he drew his blade.

He could hear claws scraping ice as Naydra climbed down the side of the peak until her angry green-rimmed eyes glared at him through the ice pillars. " _Coward,"_ Ganon hissed.

 _I'm not giving up,_ Link thought, though the accusation stung.

Naydra reared her head upwards and stretched a long leg into the gap, talons groping for his frame. Link swung the Master Sword and cut deep into two fingers; the dragon howled in agony and snatched her paw free, shaking it angrily.

Ganon's laugh echoed across the mountainside, but there was a fresh hint of annoyance. " _Come now, hero. Face your doom! I can wait as long as I like. I cannot get you from there, but if you emerge, I will take your life. There is no escape. Be a man, and face me!"_

Link inhaled deeply, shuddering as a wave of pain wracked his body. _No..._ _I won't die… I won't die… I won't die…_

 _Right?_

He ground his teeth together in discomfort. _These aren't fatal wounds… I can still do this…_ _gotta get that last eye…_

Naydra growled, crawling back to the top of the mountain. Link closed his eyes… only to open them a second later at a sudden sharp smack. Looking up, he saw the dragon swing her tail a second time at the largest ice pillar sheltering him; cracks splintered across its surface. _Goddesses, no!_

His breaths came swiftly, his mouth utterly dry. Eyes wide, he sheathed his blade and let himself slide to the ground. Teeth clenched tightly in grim determination, he hobbled forward on his hands and knees - rather, hand and knee - desperately trying to get out of the way.

One more smack and the pillar broke, shattering into fragments of ice large and small that scattered over the mountainside. Link kicked himself forwards with his one good leg, propelling himself over the ledge to the steep mountainside below. Over and over again he rolled, tumbling down the unforgiving slope of stone, banging head and elbows and sides and knees on the rocks. When at last he came to a stop, winded, in agony, staring dazedly up at the snow falling from the sky, he couldn't move. Could only lie there. Watching his vision waver. Smearing snowflakes into white streaks.

The mountainside trembled from the force of Naydra's footsteps as she clawed her way down to where he lay. With a gasp, Link rolled over, onto his stomach, and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Shivering from the pain, his hand fumbled as he searched for a weapon. He clawed the Master Sword once more from its sheath and looked upwards in time to see the dragon's paw descending once more. He slashed out at her again, sending her recoiling with a pained roar. Thick blood oozed between her scales.

Link hobbled forward, forcing his attention away from the pain in his battered body. Naydra snarled at him from her perch, curled around the mountaintop; the eye clinging over her heart seemed to burn with fury.

She launched herself into the air and dived down towards him, jaws gaping. Link held his ground as she neared and flung himself to the ground at the last possible moment, the horns on her chin brushing his back as she passed by above him. An idea struck his mind and he tightened his hold on the Master Sword, turning his head to the side to see Naydra's body passing by above him. A glimmer of dark crimson light warned of the Malice eye's approach; Link thrust his blade outwards and felt it sink into something soft. _Yes!_

And the next instant the glob of Malice surrounding the eye collided with his head, pushing him forward through the snow. Link jerked his sword free with a pained gasp; cold flames burning across his scalp and face as he writhed, struggling to get away. Panting hard, he dragged himself forward and draped himself over a frost-encrusted boulder, closing his eyes for the briefest moment as pain threatened to overcome his senses. _Focus. Focus! Can't let her down!_

A cough bubbled up from his chest, bringing something coppery along with it. When he opened his eyes there was blood on the stone before him, stark red in contrast to purest silver. There was something warm and wet trickling down the side of his face as well.

The Malice had eaten away a layer of skin where it had pressed against him.

His lips dry, he turned to look at Naydra. The dragon, graceful even in her possessed state, was curling through the air, coming back for another attempt on his life. He could see the eye, surrounded - just as the others had been - on almost every side by clumps of Malice.

The only way to pierce it would be to come up directly beneath it. Not from the side, as he'd attempted to do.

Naydra's growl jolted him from his thoughts and he stumbled forward, wobbling like a drunken man, the Master Sword shaking in his weakening grasp.

" _It's time to end this,"_ Ganon hissed, annoyance and disgust oiling his voice.

And Naydra began to circle once again, getting herself into position. Link watched her carefully as she flew.

She moved like a snake - she couldn't change the direction of her whole body at once. Where her head went, her tail would follow. Her entire body would follow. And to get him in her mouth, she would have to fly close to the ground, just as she had done before. Wielding the Master Sword while she was directly above him wasn't an option, as he'd seen…

But if it was already there… already in position…

He could win.

 _Anything for you, Princess._

With desperation, he released his weapon and clawed furiously into the snow, using both hands despite the pain. As fast as he could, he cleared away the deep snow until Naydra began her dive towards him. Teeth clenched, running out of time, he set the Master Sword down, holding it steady in one hand while using the other to replace the snow around it, burying it under firmly-packed snow until just a few inches protruded upwards.

There was time for one prayer - _Hylia, please -_ in the heartbeat of time before the dragon's jaws closed around him.

His breath stilled in his chest. Pain erupted in his torso as Naydra's teeth sank into him, just above his hip bone. His jaws parted in a scream that he could not utter. _Zelda… Princess… I'll do this… for you…_

His body seemed to pulse - he couldn't see anything - blood trickling up his chest - up? - stale, moist air - his legs were outside; he could feel them, could feel the cold - his head was… was inside? Inside of what?

It was too much. His senses closed in on him, leaving him floating numbly in blackness…

* * *

 **-==]II[==-**

* * *

With a furious screech, Ganon's presence fled. Dissolved into black smoke quickly dissipated by the wind. Gone.

Gone forever.

At first the dragon felt only numbness. Then a sudden rush of sensation, like pins and needles, all across her body. Her eyes flashed open and she gasped, something small falling from her mouth. All at once she could feel her powers returning, casting off the skin of evil she'd worn. It wasn't pleasant; she roared as splinters of light pierced through her hide, banishing the Malice that had for so long stolen her body.

She inhaled sharply at the realization. _Free… I am free…_

Slowly she blinked. How? How had such a miracle occurred? What happened?

Already the memories of her days in Ganon's possession seemed like mere dreams. Fleeting glimpses, flashes, shards of memory… but surely there was something…

The faint taste of blood in her mouth as she swallowed broke the dam holding her memories back. _The Hylian boy!_

Alarmed, she pressed a claw to her stomach, horrified. Had she gone through with it? She could not remember! But if she hadn't, surely she would see him!

Frantically she scanned the mountainside, her breath freezing in her lungs as she caught sight of the little puddle of blood staining the snow. Terrified, she lowered her head to the ground, leaning over him with one golden eye.

He was breathing. That was the important thing. Clouds of breath escaped his parted lips, steaming in the frigid mountain air. But he was swiftly losing blood from a ring of gashes around his middle - gashes that matched her teeth perfectly. Though he was small, and would have been barely more than a twig in her mouth, she could tell that two of her teeth had pierced his torso, with a third cutting his side. Others had gotten his back, but she could not see those wounds, seeing as he lay facing the sky. _I… I must have dropped him when I regained myself._ Naydra felt nauseous. _Hylia, forgive me,_ she prayed.

" _There is nothing to forgive,"_ the Goddess answered almost instantly, her voice solemn yet soothing. " _This was not your doing."_

 _I do not wish for him to die,_ Naydra mourned, her soul aching. _What he did for me, and this land…_

There was silence atop the tip of Mount Hylia. Silence, except for the long, deep breaths of the massive dragon curled around the peak. Snow fluttered softly from the dark sky.

" _Freeze him,"_ Hylia said at last. " _Use the powers Nayru has bestowed upon you to keep his wounds from putting further strain upon his heart while you travel. Take him to Kakariko Village and release your spell. The rest… the rest is up to him."_

Naydra closed her eyes, bowing her head low. _I thank you for your guidance._

Without a moment's hesitation, she exhaled slowly over the hero's battered form. A sheen of ice blossomed over his body, spreading from his fingers and toes all the way up until it covered his face. His breaths ceased; he resembled nothing more than a pale statue, and if not for the twist of his arm and leg and the puddle of blood he lay within, Naydra could imagine he was unharmed.

As gently as she could, she scooped him into her two forepaws and took to the sky, floating gracefully down the mountain just the way she had before the Calamity's return. She was fast - far faster than anything the inhabitants of the land could contrive; what had taken the little Hylian boy a day's journey took her just an hour and a half.

She could not enter Kakariko Village - she was simply too large. Any attempts to set the boy down before one of the houses would almost certainly damage the building in question, or freeze the inhabitants.

Instead she gently lowered him down just beside the Sheikah Shrine looking out over the village and released her spell. _The rest is up to you, little one._

* * *

 **-==]II[==-**

* * *

Link's consciousness returned in a mix of blurs and streaks. Something bright and blue above him - Naydra.

 _She's free,_ he realized numbly. _The last of the Malice is gone, Zelda…_

The dragon's eyes stared into his for a moment longer. Link slowly breathed in, consciousness fluttering once more at the pain that such a simple action brought him.

His vision was still horribly smudgy. Something wet glistened on Naydra's cheek, but it wasn't raining… he would've felt it if it was raining…

 _A tear?_

Then the dragon was gone, and the night sky glittered down at him.

His body burned. The last thing he remembered was the snowy mountain, and then - and then teeth. _Explains all this…_ he thought, tilting his head downwards to see blood encircling his waist where it hurt so much. _It'll be over soon…_

Something fluttered in the corner of his eye; letting his head flop back to the grass he looked to the side, noting decorations strung between domed rooftops of wood and thatch. _Kakariko Village…_

The realization prompted something to rise within him. Kakariko Village meant other people, meant Zelda, meant safety and… and help.

 _I can still live. Can still protect her from whatever else might harm her._

It would be difficult. Merciful Din, it was probably impossible. _Gotta try, at least…_

Breathing hard, he rolled onto his stomach, biting his lip at the surge of pain. He pulled his relatively uninjured leg closer to his torso and placed his good hand beneath his chest before shoving himself upwards with as much strength as he could muster. He stood, staggering backwards until he collided with the shrine at his back and came to an abrupt halt.

He closed his eyes for a moment, preparing himself. Then, curling his good arm around his bleeding middle, he took his first step forwards. An explosion of red across his vision - raw pain in his knee - and the next thing he knew, he was on his hands and knees, shuddering violently from the pain.

It was hopeless. His mind was fading, though the sensations plaguing his body seemed only to grow worse with each heartbeat that passed.

 _Can't… stop…_ he told himself, crawling weakly forwards despite the pain. Shuffling down the hill into the village. _Impa… she always knows what to do… get to her…_

Blood dripped from his mouth to the grass beneath him. He could feel it still squeezing from the gashes in his chest and back. Some of it dripped into his left eye, from the wound the Malice had inflicted on his head, and he found himself half-blind.

His body begged him to stop. Pleaded with him. Screamed at him. But he couldn't give in - could never give in. In his bleary mind he was aware of only one thing.

He was the Princess's knight, and he had a job to do. A job that he would fulfill, no matter the cost, no matter the toll it took. For she was far more than a Princess to him.

 _I'll always protect you, no matter what happens to me._

But at last his strength gave out and he crumpled in the middle of the road, clinging desperately to consciousness. He could see Impa's house… he was so close…

" _Help!"_ he cried out. Wait - something was wrong; there was no sound. Was he going deaf? He tried again, forcing as much air through his mouth as possible - " _Please! Help! Someone!"_

And yet there was no vibration in his throat. No sound. He tried again, and again, and again, confused and convinced that if he tried hard enough, he'd be able to make some sort of sound. He didn't give up - _gotta protect the Princess -_ until the dizziness of blood loss finally dragged him too deep into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you guys so much for all of your feedback and support! I hope you enjoy this next installment of the story, and happy Valentine's (Single's Awareness) Day! ( :**

 **-==]III[==-**

* * *

 **Anything for You**

* * *

 **-==]III[==-**

" _Princess."_

 _Zelda stopped, turning to face her knight. He wasn't looking at her; instead he was steadily examining the mountainous path at their backs. His posture was tense; slowly he reached his hand back to unsheathe the Master Sword. "Do you expect trouble?" she asked, slightly annoyed. "This isn't exactly the most hospitable place for enemies, and Daruk did say that he would send a few Gorons to follow us for a little while -"_

" _They turned back an hour ago,"_ _he interrupted. "When we left the main path to search for the smotherwing butterfly."_

 _Zelda frowned. He never interrupted her - not unless something was truly amiss. "What's going on?" she asked softly, taking a step closer to his reassuring presence._

 _The memory of her near-assassination at the hands of the Yiga was still far too fresh._

" _It's… too quiet," he murmured, eyes narrowed and calculating._

 _Zelda frowned, but… he was right. Death Mountain though it was, species of sparrow, dragonfly, ostrich, and butterfly had somehow evolved to make their home here - the reason she had all-but dragged Link away from the main road in the first place. Now, of course, the only sound across the volcanic wasteland was the dull rumble of flowing magma. "Will we be attacked?" she gulped._

 _Link didn't respond._

 _But the bokoblins did._

 _With their signature whooping, screeching war cries, a gaggle of the stout pig-goblins sprinted up the mountain path towards them, wooden weapons raised high._

 _There were at least twenty of them._

" _Stay back," Link urged, his voice ringing with an undercurrent of sincere concern that sent shivers through her soul as he charged forwards, Master Sword gleaming._

 _With a battle cry of his own, he met the bokoblins head on, gracefully turning from one assailant to the next, striking one and whirling to strike the next before ducking a blow from a behind and thrusting his blade out to catch a blow aimed for his knees._

 _The first bokoblin was dead in a matter of seconds; at that, the monsters seemed to rally, all converging on Link at once. But he matched them blow for blow; his blade had a much longer reach than their clubs and bats, allowing him to deflect multiple blows at once._ He must have eyes in the back of his head, _Zelda thought in astonishment as he jumped out of the way of a blow he couldn't possibly have seen._

 _She would have been frightened for him if not for the look on his face. There was no fear there; if anything he looked almost calm, even as he stabbed the Master Sword straight through two monsters at once._

 _Then he took a solid blow to the chest and stumbled backwards with a slight grunt, and fear clasped her heart in a choking grasp. But Link recovered in mere moments, blocking the next attack aimed for him and leaping over a boko spear swinging at him. There was sweat on his brow; she could see it glistening in the light of the afternoon sun as he switched from one opponent to the next, never allowing a single one enough time to incapacitate him._

 _The battle raged onwards, one young Hylian against the pack of monsters taller and broader than he was (though not by too much). Zelda couldn't bear to look away until another monster got through his defences and delivered a cheap blow to his shoulder blades. At his startled cry, her heart begged her to find some way to help._ Surely there is something I can do!

 _She couldn't fight. But she could run rather fast - perhaps she could distract them? Give Link a few less to handle at a time?_

" _Over here!" Zelda roared, picking up a stone and hurling it into the mass of bokoblins, striking one of them almost comically in the head. The offended bokoblin pointed at her with a screech and stamped its foot against the ground before charging after her, followed by a few of its companions._

" _What are you_ doing?" _Link exclaimed desperately, glancing back at her in despair, distracted just long enough for a bokoblin to strike him solidly in the stomach. Winded, he was motionless for a moment -_

 _And the monsters were upon her; she sprinted away from them, up the sloping curve of the path they'd been taking. Feeling quite proud of herself, she charged up the rocky incline as fast as she could, relieved to hear clumsy footsteps and angry grunts hurrying after her._

 _Then with a yelp she stopped as suddenly as she could, staring wide-eyed at the steep drop back down to the battle below, Link locked in combat with the remaining bokoblins._ The path spirals around a column-like rock formation, _she realized, unable to keep the analyst in her mind at bay even in this moment. She whirled around at the sudden triumphant squeal behind her; the four bokoblins that had followed her stood blocking the way down, weapons raised, ready to attack._ Farore, preserve me, _she thought, her heart nearly stopping with horror._ "Link!"

" _Jump!" he shouted, his voice tense as he sliced through the neck of one of the bokoblins attacking him._ "Now!"

 _Terrified, she regarded the bokoblins steadily closing the distance between them._ Jump?! Does he think I'm that reckless?

" _Zelda, jump!"_

 _It was the use of her name - the first time he had done so - that gave her courage. With a frightened cry she turned and launched herself over the edge of the pillar, eyes tightly closed as she awaited certain pain -_

 _Only to find herself suddenly captured within two strong, lean arms. Her eyes flashed open and suddenly she was closer to Link's face than she had ever been before._

" _Oh," she squeaked out, surprised; his cheeks flushed a bright crimson and he quickly set her down before snatching the Master Sword up from the ground and attacking the remaining bokoblins._

 _It didn't take long for the last of the monsters to fall beneath his blade. The instant all were dead, he jogged back to where he had left her. "You shouldn't do things like that," he told her, his voice thick with an emotion she'd never heard from him before. "You could have been killed!"_

" _I refuse to just stand there helplessly while you risk your life!" she shot back. "You could have been killed as well, and your life is certainly worth more to Hyrule than mine, seeing as you've actually -"_

" _Don't say that," he interrupted, his eyes wide. Almost instantly his cheeks flushed and he put his free hand to the back of his head, embarrassed in a most endearing way. "I - I mean, your life is worth just as much as mine, i-if not more. In the end - in the end, you're the one who's going to save us all."_

 _His voice had gone suddenly soft, and he was gazing intently at some spot on the ground. Zelda's heart hammered hard in her chest and she stared at him. For him to have such faith in her…_

" _All I had to do was pull a sword," he said, his voice still quiet. "You - you've been working your entire life for this. Th-the Goddesses are preparing you for something - something that no one else could ever do."_

 _He finally looked into her eyes, and she could almost feel her heart melting at the soft awe and admiration written plainly across his face. He blushed again and looked away. "I -"_

 _The thundering of hoofbeats interrupted him and he whirled around, suddenly on edge again. "Stay back!" he warned her pleadingly; as three white-maned lynels rounded the path and charged towards him, she realized what emotion she'd heard in his voice._

 _Fear._

 _Fear that she reciprocated wholeheartedly as he battled all three lynels at once. As he jumped to the side only seconds before he would have been trampled to death. As he backflipped over a blow that surely would have cut him in half. As he leapt up onto one of the monster's shoulders and slashed madly at its back only for a second lynel to grab him and forcefully rip him off, flinging him hard against the side of the pillar. As he lay slumped against the stone for a heart-stopping moment before staggering to his feet, eyes burning with courage._

 _It took far too long for the first lynel to fall. By then, the other two were growing weary, but still they fought with possibly fatal ferocity, mercilessly striking at the Hylian boy barely tall enough to reach their waists. Nevertheless, Link fought back with the strength of a man thrice his size. With a sagave cry he slashed the Master Sword at a blow meant to take of his head, but instead of catching the lynel's blade, he struck its wrist instead._

 _And cut it clean off._

 _The monster howled in agony and Link turned his attention back to the other one in time to dive out of the way of yet another would-be fatal blow._

 _Zelda felt as though she might vomit from the fear._

 _Especially when she saw Link stagger backwards with a pained cry, clutching his sword arm._

 _But he did not falter. After a split-second of recovery, he returned to the battle with grim resolution plastered across his features and ended the life of the lynel whose hand he'd removed. It wasn't long after that that he finished off the third lynel as well; heaving a deep, long sigh, he wiped the Master Sword clean on a bokoblin's vest before slipping it back into its sheath and making his way back to her._

 _Zelda swallowed shakily, fearfully eyeing him for signs of damage. He'd taken enough hits to have bruises all across his body, but it wouldn't be proper at all for her to tend to those. Instead she reached a trembling hand out towards his sword arm, gingerly taking it in her hand and pushing at his sleeve. He winced slightly, instinctively pulling away, and Zelda bit her lip. "Don't do that again," she urged him, a tad harsher than she meant to._

 _He raised an eyebrow at her. "I have to." He jerked his chin towards the Master Sword's hilt._

 _She sighed heavily, taking his hand and guiding him to the top of the pillar where she'd jumped off, where a small ledge jutted upward like a bench. She was… surprised by the resignation in his tone. He'd been working to be a knight for his entire life, hadn't he? So why would he sound forlorn at the thought of combat?_

" _You don't sound particularly excited by that," she noted casually, gently examining his sleeve. "I thought you wanted this."_

" _I do," he assured her quickly, and it seemed for a moment that he was going to say more. Instead he looked away as she rolled up his sleeve; he said nothing more._

 _Zelda tried not to sigh. It was agonizing to think about how horribly she'd misjudged him. Only after the Yiga encounter had she begun to realize just how human he was._

 _Human. Prone to mistakes. Prone to causing accidental fires in the courtyard. Prone to slipping in a puddle of mud only to land, hard, on a Cucco, prompting it to attack him with its fellows. Prone to locking his emotions deep within his soul for some reason that she had not yet been able to glean from him._

 _She blinked rapidly, looking at the wound on his arm. With the blood it looked a lot worse than it probably was; she had never treated any injury before, but she was determined to show Link that she could be his friend. "I… I don't know about that," she murmured, slipping her canteen from her belt and tearing a strip of relatively clean cloth from his sleeve (she couldn't find anything else to use as a bandage). "I'm still not entirely convinced. You are not at all like any of the other knights I've met; you do not seem to be driven by a desire for wealth or glory. So what is it that drives you to put so much effort into the path you have chosen?"_

 _He didn't respond immediately, and Zelda winced inwardly, thinking maybe she had gone a bit too fast._

 _After all, barely two weeks before, she had treated him worse than anyone else she'd ever met._

 _But then he spoke, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Princess, I don't exactly_ enjoy _what I do - taking the lives of other creatures. But the alternative - what would happen if I didn't fight - is too terrible." There was sadness as he spoke, sadness and… and guilt._

 _She knew she shouldn't pry further. But the curiosity… her curiosity was just too strong… "What happened?"_

 _He sucked in a sharp breath. "I… I lost someone. M-my mother. And I - I didn't know how to stop it, though I tried." His voice hardened, and he looked at her steadily with another emotion she could not name. "I won't let that happen again. If someone I care about is in danger, no matter what kind, I will do anything to protect them._ Anything."

 _Zelda fell speechless at his words. She dropped her gaze away from his, feeling her cheeks grow warm with a blush. Awkwardly she cleared her throat, tying off the bandage on his arm. "Th-that cut doesn't look to bad, actually. But you know, there's a fine line between courage and -"_

" _I'll do anything for you."_

 _Zelda paused, frowning. She looked up at him, brow furrowed. "Wh-what?"_

" _I'll do anything for you."_

 _Something was wrong. The sky was darkening, a violent crimson color; Link was looking at her in a way that he hadn't in the actual memory. With sadness in his eyes, and a soft smile, his hand found hers on his injured arm and gently moved it away. "I'll do anything for you," he whispered again; this time his voice caught in his throat as he got to his feet and drew the Master Sword._

" _Link, this - this isn't what happened," Zelda protested, afraid. "What's going on?"_

" _I'll do anything for you," he said again, a tear trickling down his cheek as he backed away._

" _Stop it!" Zelda said, shooting to her feet. "Link, I demand to know what's going on!"_

 _He didn't respond. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and he staggered, groaning as wounds suddenly opened across his body, blood darkening the blue of his tunic. He crumpled to his knees, pain etched across his face as he shuddered. "I'll…" His voice was faint and dizzy; with a strangled cry he fell to his side, his breathing hoarse and strained. Zelda rushed to him, appalled._

" _What happened? What's wrong?" She took him into her arms, anxiously pressing her hand to his chest where the bleeding seemed heaviest._ "Link, what's going on?"

 _He just looked at her with that same little smile, his eyes watering with tears. "I'll… anything… f-for you…"_

 _And suddenly his features went slack, and the light went out of his eyes._

* * *

 **-==]III[==-**

* * *

Zelda awakened with a gasp, her hands flying to her mouth. _Sweet Nayru - !_

It had been so horribly real. So horribly, _painfully_ real. Even now, awake and safe in Kakariko's inn, she couldn't shake the terrible sadness from her soul. _It's alright,_ she told herself. _He's fine. He'll be back soon. Everything's alright._

Her eyes watered. Worry for him, worry for her knight, clasped her soul. _Was he truly alright when he returned?_ She hadn't checked. His clothes had been awfully tattered, but she hadn't seen any blood… _Oh, merciful Din -_ what if he'd just hidden them from her? It was exactly the sort of thing he'd do.

 _I'll do anything for you._

Her chin wobbled. Those had been the last words he said to her before the Shrine of Resurrection. Words spoken just before he lost consciousness, as he lay dying in her arms.

The terrible feeling of sadness and fear persisted in her soul and she closed her eyes, willing herself to go back to sleep. _Just a bad dream,_ she told herself. _Just a bad dream._

A shadow passed over the window. Already on edge, Zelda sat bolt upright, her heart pounding. _What was that?!_

 _Merciful heavens above…_ When Link returned she would feel so much better. So much safer. She always did when he was around.

Swallowing tightly, she slid her feet out of bed and went to the window. _Be brave like Link,_ she told herself, heart hammering. Breathing in deeply, she peered outside.

" _Great Din!"_ The gasp left her lips on instinct as she saw the magnificent creature flying upwards, as if into the moon itself, over the village.

 _A dragon._ The blue spirit said to have guarded the Spring of Wisdom. And, indeed, Zelda had seen the creature once before, when she visited the Spring the century before. She would have said something to Link, who had been fastidiously setting up their camp for the night, but fear held her back.

After all, though the dragon had been clear as day to Zelda, and quite large and nearly impossible to miss, there were hardly any recorded sightings of dragons that she had found.

Which led her to believe that the dragon was merely a figment of her imagination. Surely Link would have thought she'd gone insane.

But here it was now, coiling gracefully upwards into a bank of cloud, shimmering the color of ice and pure ocean waters. _A single occurrence is one thing. But if something happens a second time… the probability that I am either mad or actually seeing a dragon increases._

 _But which is it?_

She inhaled deeply, the memory of her nightmare returning. _If Link were here…_ Perhaps, this time, she would have found the courage to open up to him about dragons. Her heart warmed and a smile graced her lips - she could just imagine his face as he listened attentively, just the way he always did, with his head tilted to the side and his eyes slightly narrowed as he focused.

 _Hurry home,_ she begged, feeling the grasp of fear tighten around her soul.

And then of course there was _that._ Where was home for him? Even before the Calamity she'd only ever seen him at or around the castle.

Her heart burned as she remembered the conclusion she'd made about why that was. He'd told her that his mother was dead, and it wasn't long afterwards that he told her his father had been killed in a Yiga attack on Hateno the same day Link drew the Master Sword.

He stayed at the castle, perhaps, because he had nowhere else to go. Especially after he became her appointed knight, she never remembered him taking any days off to visit a hometown or whatever family remained to him.

 _And now…_ From what she had seen of his journey back to her, he hadn't ever stayed in one place. Even now, after Ganon's defeat, he had been on the road more than he'd settled.

 _And it's my fault,_ Zelda thought, not for the first time, her stomach squeezing with guilt as tears burned in her eyes. _I haven't let him rest, even for a moment._

Selfishly her mind tried to put together some sort of an excuse - _He's the only warrior capable of defeating so many enemies as fast as possible -_

Was that all he was to her? A weapon to be used when necessary?

She felt horribly disgusted with herself. Link was so much more than a sword. So much more than a warrior. He was her friend, for one - the kindest, bravest friend anyone could ever hope for, and… and…

 _And I've taken advantage of that fact._

He was always so willing to step in, to do what needed to be done. But… it was more than that. He didn't treat everyone exactly the same way; though he helped them, of course, it was only ever with a glance in her direction, ensuring that her permission was granted, or perhaps… perhaps ensuring that she would be safe while he lended his skills elsewhere.

A few times when asked for help, he wouldn't set out right away. Instead he would gather supplies, plot his course, ensure that everything was ready.

But when it came to the things that _she_ asked of him, there was no hesitation. He left _immediately_ from the Great Plateau to go to her aid; he left _immediately_ to eliminate the Malice-touched monsters, and he'd left _immediately_ for Mount Lanayru.

He had always been so eager, so willing, to do the things that she asked… and she had grown accustomed to that, had let it become just a quotidian fact of her life.

 _When he returns, I'll ask him what_ he _wants,_ she decided, though guilt still wriggled like worms in her gut. _And this time,_ I'll _be the one to do whatever it takes to fulfill his wishes._

A faint movement tugged at the corner of her eye. Frowning, she turned and squinted into the shadows cast by the tall mountain peaks surrounding Kakariko. There was… something on the ground, right where the road through the village split into two, between the clothing shop and the Cucco man's house - _Nayru, what's his name? Cado?_

It was difficult to tell just what the object was. It wasn't moving, so it couldn't have been an animal of some sort. _But… such a strange shape!_ No box or sculpture or plant or Sheikah tech she could think of had a shape like that.

Squinting as a little bubble of fear returned to her heart, threatening to overshadow the curiosity there, she tried to define just what, exactly, the shape was. _Rather long… and it doesn't rise particularly high off of the ground…_ She could just make out an irregular roundish object attached to one end, seemingly pointing towards Impa's house… a round object that seemed… fluffy?

A short scream escaped her throat. _Nayru's love -_ the roundish object was someone's head, she was certain. Which meant that as a whole, the _thing_ sprawled on the middle of the path was… _a person._

Why weren't they moving? Kakariko didn't have any alcohol that she'd seen, even in the inn for passing travellers that might have wanted it. Impa detested the substance, as did the rest of the Sheikah, for they were a people that valued intelligence and quick thinking above all others, and alcohol certainly prevented that.

So it was horribly unlikely that the figure in the road was a drunk.

 _Which means… they must be wounded._

A lump formed in her throat. _Why didn't they call for help?_ she wondered, even as she pulled a long robe over her nightgown and darted out of her room. The realization that whoever it was hadn't called out as they entered the village struck a chord in her heart and she couldn't help but putting the pieces together.

 _That terrible dream…_

 _A wounded figure in the night…_

 _Someone who didn't call out for help..._

She could guess just who it was. But she prayed fervently to Farore that she was wrong. Her throat painfully dry, she hurried through the main entrance of the inn and out into the desolate village, shuddering at the bite of the night air. Her heart jumped frantically in her chest as she jogged along the road, past the statue of Hylia and the little pond surrounding it, until she reached the man on the ground.

" _Link!"_ she cried out; her voice choked with despair, she crumpled to her knees at his side, fingers hovering over him. He was surely wounded, somewhere, but it was dark - she couldn't see -

He was still conscious, through some miracle. But the sliver of his eyes perring out beneath heavy lashes were horribly dazed and unfocused; clearly he could not see her. His lips were moving, shallow, oddly-shaped breaths brushing the still night air. Zelda's breath caught in her throat as she realized the word that his lips were forming: _Help._

"Oh, _Link,"_ she whispered, reaching out to cup his cheek even as his lips fell still and his eyes finally closed. She could feel something wet and sticky where her fingers touched and didn't have to think twice about what it was. Heart pounding violently, she raised her gaze from his face to the silent village around them. "Help!" she shouted desperately, her voice agonizingly breathless and terrified. "Link's - Link - _help me, please!"_

Lights flashed on in the house of the Cucco man nearby - his name _was_ Cado, wasn't it? - and Dorian's house next to that. Zelda shouted again, tears pouring down her face; she looked down at Link in fear and desperation, letting her hand slide to his neck to ensure that his heart still beat.

 _Merciful Din…_ it was beating fast. Horribly fast. And as Cado approached bearing a flickering torch, she could see why. And she screamed.

Link was lying in a puddle of his own blood, which drenched his chest and sides. She hadn't seen it before then because of the shadows of the night and the dark color of his clothing. Beyond the blood his right arm was twisted near the shoulder, and though the rest of his limbs were resting straight on the ground, she couldn't be certain about the extent of his injuries.

Her heart pounded hard in her throat as she returned her gaze to his face. His features were twisted with a grimace of agony even as he lay unconscious at her side. Blood trickled from his lips and glistened beneath his nostrils, and the left side of his face was drenched in blood that matted his golden hair.

Cado was speaking. There were others around her, too. Someone put their hand on her shoulder. She was hardly aware of anything as Dorian scooped Link into his arms as if he were one of his children - _He's so small -_ and she hurried after the man, her gaze locked onto Link's face. _I won't leave! I won't!_ Someone tried to hold her back; she wrenched herself free and darted after the older Sheikah warrior, blood roaring in her ears, her soul aching with a special kind of terror.

One that she'd felt only twice before. Both as a result of Calamity Ganon's deeds.


	4. Chapter 4

**A bit of a warning for this chapter; it's a lot more graphic in describing wounds than what I usually write. As a side note, I thought that maybe I went too far with Link's injuries, so I did some research (as I do with quite a few of my stories to make sure I get the details right). For those of you who want a moderate spoiler, look up "Rodney Fox Shark Attack" - the most similar real-life situation I could find to getting bitten by a dragon.**

 **Oh, and perhaps you'll be happy to know - once again, I've written more than I thought I would, so there's one more part after this, coming out next Thursday! Hope you enjoy this week's early update; thank you all for reading! ( :**

 **James Birdsong: Thank you! I hope you like this last one as well - have a great day!**

 **-==]IV[==-**

* * *

 **Anything for You**

* * *

 **-==]IV[==-**

With his clothing removed and only a blanket folded lengthwise draped over his modest region, the damage was so much worse.

For one, Zelda noticed that his right knee was horribly swollen and shiny, dramatically discolored. His right arm appeared to be dislocated, and his upper arm was entirely the wrong shape - curved a bit like a snake - indicating a broken bone.

Bruises decorated his entire body, although only a few were substantially large. Much more worrying were the deep cuts in his back and middle, which had yet to stop bleeding. All of those wounds - there were five in total - seemed about the same width and the same general location up his body, as if he'd been smashed between two identical sets of blades.

 _Or teeth._

The thought prompted a fresh wave of tears from Zelda's eyes and she bit her lip hard to keep them at least somewhat under control.

What worried her most was the fact that since moving him back to his room at the Shuteye Inn, he had become horribly weaker. His shallow breaths were fewer and farther between, although his heartbeat was faster than ever. He was as pale as freshly-fallen snow, the crimson of his blood horribly visible.

Paya had taken the Sheikah Slate to fetch Purah and Robbie; if anyone knew of some sort of ancient tech that could help the hero, it was them. Dorian, Cado, and Steen, as the village's most seasoned warriors, knew the most about treating wounds - out of necessity. The three of them hovered over Link's body, frantically trying to stem the flow of blood from his midsection, but thus far they hadn't made much progress.

And then Steen said it: "At this rate, he'll soon run out of blood."

Zelda's heart clenched at the thought. " _Wh-what?"_

The Sheikah man fidgeted nervously, avoiding her gaze. "He's losing too much, too fast." He inhaled deeply, finally looking sternly into her eyes. "Princess… I think it might be appropriate to consider if… if perhaps we should just… end it."

She felt as if she couldn't breathe. "What do you mean?" she choked out, shuddering from sudden cold.

"It might be kinder to put him out of his misery," Steen mumbled. "Bleeding out is said to be one of the most painful ways to go. At this point, there's not much hope for his survival, so I think it would be safe to assume he's going to die. Better to end it now, before he has to suffer more…"

Zelda swallowed thickly, turning her gaze to Link's horribly pale face. His shallow breaths were painfully strained; trace amounts of tension remained on his face even though he was very much unconscious. _Which means… he's feeling this. Some part of him is feeling this pain._

"There has to be something else we can do," she protested hoarsely, turning to the three Sheikah. "What can we do? What can _I_ do? Please - I will do _anything!"_

Dorian turned to her next. "It's not just a simple flesh wound, Princess. There is extensive damage to several organs as well; his stomach is filling with blood as we speak. It's a miracle he's still alive."

Zelda clutched her own stomach, feeling sick. "Wh-what about the Shrine of Resurrection? It - it worked before -"

"It might take another century for him to recover - little is known about the Shrine," a new voice protested, and Zelda turned in relief to see Purah hurrying into the room, gagging slightly, with Robbie and Paya close behind. "If so, he would awaken in a world where you, and everyone else he has come to know, is either gone or on their deathbed. He would be alone. And even if the Shrine were an option, he might reawaken with further brain damage. Worse than amnesia."

Zelda's eyes burned at the thought. "W-well… could we transport him to the Zora? Mipha was gifted with healing magic - perhaps there is another Zora who might be able to -"

"Teleportation is always a risky business," Robbie shook his head, wringing his hands. "With him actively losing bodily fluids… he might not make it all the way."

Zelda ground her teeth together. _No! There has to be something we can do!_

"Stasis!" she blurted, her gaze snapping to Purah. "We could use the Stasis rune on his body to keep time's effects from reaching him while we repair the damage! Please tell me that would work!"

Purah tilted her head. "In theory it would. But the Stasis rune is temporary; it lasts barely a few minutes at a time…"

"And there's still the matter that he'll be dead in an hour at most from blood loss," Cado cut in, deftly replacing crimson-stained compresses with fresh ones around the hero's middle. "It's only because of his state of physical fitness that he's lasted this long."

Zelda's mind raced. "Is there some way to get blood _into_ him?"

"...I believe technology like that was developed in the years following the Calamity's fall -"

"Then we have to do it," Zelda insisted, heart pounding. "Does the village have those supplies?"

"R-Robbie left them the last time he c-came - I'll find it," Paya volunteered softly, raising her hand timidly before darting out of the bedroom.

"It's not that simple, Princess," Robbie protested gently. "Transfusions don't always work the way they should. We believe it has something to do with the type of blood used. Only a close family member could work, from what we've seen."

Zelda forgot to breathe for a moment, fresh tears burning her eyes. _And… Link has no one. No more blood-relations left._

 _However…_

"Would my blood work?" she asked softly. "Not that we're related or anything, but… we were both chosen by the Goddesses to fight Ganon. Surely… surely there must be _something…_ something about that that would cause similarities between our physical compositions… right?"

"Are you willing to bet his life on it?" Purah raised an eyebrow, her face cruelly anxious and afraid for one who looked so young.

"It's worth a try," Steen sighed. "At least… at least there's a _chance_ if we do it this way."

"Purah, can you adjust the Stasis rune to last for a longer period of time?" Zelda asked, a glimmer of hope teasing her soul.

The little Sheikah scientist quickly took the Slate from where Paya had left it, resting by the door with the rest of Link's clothing. "I… I think so. If -"

"We're running out of time!" Dorian interrupted, his voice tense with desperation. "If we're going to try to save him, it has to be _now._ Otherwise we're just prolonging his suffering, which he certainly doesn't deserve!"

Zelda flinched. Purah, white faced, slid her fingers over the Sheikah Slate and pointed it towards Link's body. With a faint chime, translucent golden chains flickered around him, vanishing moments later. "He's frozen," Purah acknowledged.

The three Sheikah men wasted no time, and Robbie darted to the bedside to help where he could. With the flow of blood from Link's body ceased, they finally had the opportunity to clean up that which had already spilled; Robbie was swift to fetch fresh cloth and boiling water from the inn's kitchen. Zelda was stunned by how quickly they moved - and by just how much blood there was.

When it was finally all cleared away, she couldn't watch any longer, feeling as though she might vomit.

Merciful Din… it truly was miraculous that Link still lived.

With sterilized needles that Cado had readied almost the instant he'd seen the damage, the men worked to stitch the poor hero back together, inside and out. Zelda hurried shakily to Purah's side, examining the Sheikah Slate in an attempt to block what she had seen from her mind.

The screen was filled with yellow-tinged Sheikah runes, rows and rows of them all down together. Zelda squinted, slowly reading them as she had years and years before. "What is this?"

"The word 'rune' is a bit of a misconception," Purah muttered, quickly scrolling through. "You remember that. The Stasis rune itself is comprised of other runes, which are comprised of sub-runes, and so on. Everything is a process - these lines here are the most basic processes that create Stasis. If I tap on one, it expands into smaller, more detailed processes, and so on. I'm looking for the one that tells the Slate how _long_ to hold Stasis.

"If it could be held longer, wouldn't the creators of the Slate have already had it do so?"

"Not necessarily. A few minutes is already more than long enough for it to do what it's usually meant to do - stop an arrow's trajectory, allow force to be applied to an object…"

"So using it this way is… unorthodox, which is why it wasn't written to hold for longer?"

Purah shook her head, tapping on a line that read, ' _Hold elements of targeted object for three-hundred seconds.'_ "Not necessarily. The Shrine of Resurrection uses the Stasis rune, but the runes have been altered to hold for a longer period of time. It also includes a calculation feature to estimate how long certain wounds will be able to heal on their own in a state of Stasis."

Zelda glanced at Link. The chains had reappeared, still translucent but no longer yellow, warning that the rune was about to lose its hold. "Purah… is it as bad as it was last time?"

The Sheikah girl didn't look up from the Slate. "No. Last time, there were _holes_ all through his body, not just deep wounds. He was down to perhaps a tenth of his body's blood. And we didn't have access to the Stasis rune on the Sheikah Slate, which meant that what we're doing now would have been impossible. I think the Shrine's estimate that it would take his body a century to heal itself naturally was perfectly accurate."

The Stasis rune faded from Link's body, and a rush of air rasped through the room. With a startled gasp, Steen carefully passed his needle to Robbie and firmly pressed down on the hero's torso and arms to keep him from struggling. Swallowing tightly, Zelda looked back at her knight, only to see his lips parted and his face scrunched in a silent scream.

Her eyes burned. To be so horribly weak, and yet to be in such excruciating agony that his body forced him to cry out… And then there was the fact that his cry was nearly completely silent, which was heartbreaking in and of itself.

A vocal manifestation of the pain would have been far less terrible than the heaving, empty breaths escaping his throat.

"There," Purah murmured.

Zelda turned her attention back to the Sheikah Slate, wiping tears from her face. "What is it?" she managed, trying in vain to dispel the quaver from her voice.

"I've copied the runes comprising Stasis to a new rune I've named Stasis rev.01. That way, if I end up breaking it, we still have the original Stasis rune right here."

Zelda nodded slowly, remembering that over the course of the century Purah had learned to develop her own runes. "Can you do it?"

"Well, we're about to find out," she said, her voice slightly vacant as she devoted most of her attention to the lines of runes. "Requires a lot of guesswork… I can't use a function that isn't already in the original Stasis rune; the Slate might not be able to perform it… have to match the formatting of the original…" Mumbling to herself, she tapped the screen fervently, tracing several runes into the Slate and crossing out others, faster than Zelda could follow.

"Is the original Stasis recharged yet?" she asked tentatively, with another involuntary glance at Link. There were tears staining his porcelain cheeks now.

Purah nodded and navigated back to the standard rune screen, activating Stasis once again. "Another benefit of having a copy - the original can continue to run while I work on this one."

Zelda tilted her head, imagining it.

There had been a time when she and Purah had had the same amount of knowledge on the ancient Sheikah relics.

But over the course of the century, Zelda's learning had stagnated. Now she could clearly feel just how far behind she was, and the thought rankled.

 _And yet… the fact that I awakened my sealing power allowed the Goddesses to tell me that the Sheikah Towers activated the Shrines. And the Shrines contained runes that the Slate could then download._

 _If not for that, we'd have no way to save Link now._

And that, truly, was what mattered the most to her at that moment. _It_ should _be what matters most at_ every _moment._

A burning sensation of guilt and shame bubbled in her stomach and she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

 _Nayru's love, Link - I'm not worth it. I could never be worth it! Why,_ why _would you do this to yourself?!_

She had sent him to the mountain. Just one request of so many that she couldn't remember them all.

 _Taste this frog for me, Link._

 _Make a note of that unusual sparrow behavior, Link._

 _You'll keep us safe from the heat of Goron City, right, Link?_

 _We're returning to Gerudo Desert, but after what happened before, with the Yiga - I'd feel so much safer if you were with me. If you wear_ this, _it might work…_

And others, that she hadn't explicitly stated or bestowed upon him, but that he followed nonetheless.

 _Protect me, Link._

 _Fight for me, Link._

 _Save the kingdom for me, Link._

 _Die for me, Link._

Her breaths were coming faster and faster as panic and despair threatened to overwhelm her. _How could I have failed to realize how I was treating him in the moment? It seems all too clear_ now…

And then there was the second terrible reality. _How could I even begin to fix this? He has already suffered the consequences… he could die at any moment. And it would be entirely my fault._

 _I have done far too much to hurt him. How could he ever find it in him to forgive me? And do I even deserve forgiveness?_

She realized how horribly she'd treated him _now,_ at the end of it all. She'd never meant to bring him pain, and yet she had seen firsthand, time and time again, how her commands and needs brought him hurt. Her fault lay in taking advantage of him - of his strength, of his kindness, of his courage and dedication - while failing to realize that she was doing so. She'd let him become ordinary to her, failing to recognize just how unique he was, just how incredible.

But she could not, and could never, take back the things she had put him through, no matter how unintentional her actions. There would always be scars.

 _I'm ready to change, to treat him the way he deserves. But how could_ that _ever be enough?_

"Aaand _snap_!" Purah crowed, breaking the tense silence just as the chains began to fade to red again. This time when the rune faded, she instantly replaced it with the rune she'd altered. "That should hold for another two hours," she reported, crossing her arms confidently. "But then it'll require thirty minutes to recharge. How long will you guys need?"

"It's difficult to say," Cado answered softly. "We can't risk doing a hurried job on this."

Robbie heaved a sigh; when he spoke, his voice was more downhearted than Zelda had ever heard before. "At this rate, I'd estimate four hours."

"And somewhere in there, he'll need blood," Dorian added. "Perhaps after we have everything… everything _inside_ sewn up."

Zelda put a hand over her stomach, once again swallowing back the bile rising in her throat.

* * *

 **-==]IV[==-**

* * *

Having her blood transferred into Link's body was not a pleasant experience by any means. Although the technology had improved from when she had been a child and watched as her father attempted to save her mother in a similar manner, it was still a far cry from painless. Robbie and Purah sat on either side of her as her blood was drawn through a thin needle and a narrow tube Robbie had constructed from ancient Sheikah tech; he had sent it to Kakariko years before, when Cado had an emergency involving Cuccos and archery.

She felt lightheaded… her arm, with the needle inserted, was beginning to feel numb and tingly. She felt afraid - she'd never lost _any_ blood before…

 _Because Link took every one of the blows aimed for me._

 _Did I ever truly understand what that meant for him?_

All at once her fear seemed horribly selfish. She could never repay him for the blood he had lost in her defense, the pain he had suffered because of her. _What I'm doing now is utterly significant compared to what he's done for me._

It seemed like an eternity had passed before the Sheikah could finally begin stitching the outermost edges of the wounds entirely closed. At that point, Link's hand, tightly wrapped in Zelda's own, was frightfully cold, and his skin still horribly pale. During the brief spells when the Stasis runes recharged, silent tears trickled down his cheeks, evidence that beneath the heavy layers of unconsciousness cloaking his mind, a part of him could feel the pain. His shallow, uneven breaths were the only sound to fill the room; the others were too absorbed by their tasks and too overwhelmed by the tension in the air to make any sort of conversation.

Zelda clung to Link's hand, gently stroking his knuckles and praying that it would be over soon, that he wouldn't have to hurt anymore. _My fault,_ she thought over and over again. _My fault…_

The pale light of dawn trickled in through the window when, at long last, Dorian wrapped several layers of bandages around Link's middle and head, after cleaning the wound on the side of his face. With nearly identical expressions of sorrow and worry, the three warriors stepped back, away from the bedside.

"Wh-what about his - his arm and knee?" Zelda asked quietly, swiftly getting to her feet.

Cado shook his head. "The pain would be too much. In the state he's in, any further pain could kill him."

Zelda bit back a choked cry; teeth digging into her lip she studied her knight's neary motionless form. "Can… can we give him anything to numb the pain?"

"He won't be able to consume anything for at least a few weeks," Steen explained gently. "His… his body wouldn't be able to handle it without undoing everything we've just finished."

She looked at the Sheikah anxiously. "What about water? Without that…"

"We'll wait until it's absolutely necessary," Dorian sighed, turning to Purah. "I don't suppose there's some sort of rune you can develop to see if anything… reopens?"

"The Shrine of Resurrection had something like that," Purah remembered. "I can go there now, try to get into the runes, and I'll be back in…"

"In six days," Dorian finished for her. "We won't be able to wait any longer."

Purah nodded grimly, turning to the Princess and giving the Sheikah Slate a slight shake. "I'll have to take this with me," she said regretfully. "If the Shrine _does_ have what we need, I'll try to download it onto the Slate."

Zelda nodded quickly. "May the Goddesses be with you," she murmured, fighting back tears before turning back to Link. Slowly she approached his bedside and grabbed several blankets, pulling them up his battered body to his chin. _And with you, as well, hero._

* * *

 **-==]IV[==-**

* * *

She vowed to stay by his side until he opened his eyes again. Throughout the days that followed, she didn't leave his room unless it was absolutely necessary. She changed his bandages - usually with assistance from whichever of the Sheikah warriors happened to be available - and washed his face and neck with a damp cloth; sometimes she spent hours just listening to his shallow, strained breaths, while other times she read to him, spoke to him, prayed for him, pleaded for his forgiveness and begged him to be alright, to smile and open his eyes and never get hurt again…

By the end of the week, when Purah returned triumphant, Link's slightly-parted lips were chapped; it was clear that the inside of his mouth was horribly dry as well.

Without water, he would die within two days at most.

She opened the rune from the Shrine of Resurrection and carefully guided Dorian and Steen as they gently poked a tube down Link's throat. "Not there - that'll get it into his lungs! Pull it back out; try again!"

Once the tube was in place, she focused the rune on his midsection; with a quaver in her voice she said, "Alright. Go ahead; as little as possible."

Zelda tightened her grip on Link's hand, looking away from him as tears burned in her eyes for perhaps the millionth time that week. She waited, hardly daring to breath, until Purah spoke again:

"He's holding it."

They dared not give him too much water in order to put as little strain as possible on his wounded innards; they gave him only enough to survive another day or so before slowly removing the tube and leaving him to his rest.

The following day, and the day after that, they continued to give him the same little amount of water through the tube. But he would have to wait for at least three weeks before they could try giving him anything more than water.

When she replaced his bandages with fresh ones every day, it was horribly apparent how quickly he was deteriorating. A week and a half after he returned, Zelda felt that something was wrong with his ribs. A few of them had broken, to be sure, but the swelling had gone down and Cado felt it was safe enough to bandage them, but… that wasn't it.

Studying him closely, she realized that beneath his pectoral muscles she could make out just the faintest outlines of each of his ribs.

She wasn't the only one to notice.

"H-he's losing weight," Paya observed, visiting one afternoon after providing a lunch for her grandmother. Her cheeks were flushed a bright crimson red; Zelda suspected that the only reason she hadn't come before was that she felt too self-conscious.

Zelda swallowed thickly. "He's… alive," she murmured, gazing into his pallid face. "And that's what matters most, for now… I can only hope that he is strong enough to last until the internal wounds heal."

Paya was silent for several moments, cautiously pulling a second chair up to the hero's bedside. There was a bunch flowers clasped in her hands - silent princesses. "H-his favorite flower," she explained with a blush at Zelda's curious expression. "H-he always… always had one w-w-with him."

Zelda's heart skipped a beat. Silent princesses were _her_ favorite flowers; she found them beautifully inspiring. As far as she knew, Link had never been particularly interested in flowers, but…

" _This one here is called the silent princess,"_ she had said, bending over to get a closer look as the warm afternoon sun of the century before warmed her back.

And Link had joined her, kneeling in the grass, peering curiously over her shoulder at the little flower.

Her eyes burned with tears, and she looked at his motionless face, her heart aching with guilt and desperation. _Please… come back._

From then on, Paya visited much more frequently; it seemed she had gotten over whatever insecurities that kept her away. But she rarely spoke, only gazed into Link's unresponsive face, watching his bruised chest rise with shallow breath. Zelda felt a little jealous, wondering if perhaps the Sheikah girl's obvious admiration for the hero was returned.

But she tried to keep her mind away from such thoughts. _Paya would never ask anything of him - let alone send him off into danger over and over again. She already appreciates him, understands his worth..._

 _He deserves someone like her._

And her heart ached with sharper guilt and sadness.

She was stunned when, one cloudy afternoon, Paya entered wearing anger in her eyes. Zelda tried to think nothing of it, returning her attention to Link and the growing shadows beneath his cheekbones.

But then Paya spoke, and her voice was frighteningly transformed with sorrow. "Forgive me for b-being so bold, Y-Your Highness. But I… I h-have something I n-n-need to… to say." She inhaled deeply, twisting her fingers with anxiety, tearing her gaze away from Link's face. "You took his m-memories. Y-You took his voice. You took his _life._ When w-w-will it b-be enough for you? Wh-when will you finally _leave him alone?"_

Zelda's eyes burned with tears, and she bowed her head. "I… I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt him."

Paya's eyes narrowed. "No. Of c-course not." She bit her lip, fidgeting slightly, before at last swallowing audibly and continuing. "B-but y-you don't under… understand. M-Master Link is… is too kind f-for his own good. H-he puts _everything_ he has into… into _every_ task. E-even when it's t-t-t… too much for him. Wh-whatever you had him do, it _was_ too m-much. B-but he did it a-anyway, b-b… because that's just who he is. And because… because…"

Her chin wobbled; a tear glimmered in her eye. When she spoke again, her voice was a mournful whisper. "Because wh-when it comes t-to you, there's _nothing_ he wouldn't do. B-but you're too s-self-absorbed t-to see it. To see h-how much he cares."

She shot to her feet, wringing her hands, head down. "F-forgive me, P-Princess. B-but I had to say it. It's… it's about time s-someone stood up for him."

Without a backwards glance she hurried from the room, leaving Zelda alone with her thoughts, her guilt, and a broken young man.


	5. Chapter 5

**My goodness, I think I write too much! This was meant to be a short story, and yet it's 75 pages in Google Docs, in .12 font, 1.5 spaced. I hope you all don't get tired of me droning on and on!**

 **Here's the next chapter. Notice how I say 'next,' and not last. There's one more chapter after this; originally I was going to post these two both together, but that would have created a chapter over 20 pages long, and... that seemed like a bit too much.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Thank you all for reading!**

 **-==]V[==-**

* * *

 **Anything for You**

* * *

 **-==]V[==-**

She didn't know which would be better - to leave Link's life forever, to never cause him pain again, or to stay and try to fix the damage she'd caused. Sitting at his bedside day after day, she felt horribly nauseous, looking at his limp form, at his bones steadily becoming more and more obvious, and remember… _This was all my fault._

But… she was a coward. And she couldn't find the strength to leave him forever. _But is it because I care about him, or because I want him for myself?_

She didn't know.

When Purah's scan revealed that Link's bones were beginning to heal right where they were, Dorian decided that they couldn't wait any longer to set them properly. Otherwise the hero would never be able to use his right arm again, and he probably wouldn't be able to walk, either.

It was that initial pain of having his shoulder popped back into place that jerked him back to consciousness again. Zelda didn't notice at first, as she gently cradled his calloused left hand; then a sudden whoosh of air rushed through her ears and she turned with tear-blurred eyes to see his face scrunched into an expression of intense agony, his lips parted as he breathed heavily. Beneath his eyelids she could see, at long last, a glimpse of purest blue.

"Link," she murmured, her shoulders sagging with relief. Gently she moved one hand to cup his cheek, still not accustomed to the cold of his skin. "They're almost done, and then it'll be over… You can do this, Link… Please, just a little longer… _I'm so sorry…"_

* * *

 **-==]V[==-**

* * *

 _That voice._

He knew that voice. The voice that meant suffering, that meant pain and sadness and bleeding and exhaustion.

The voice that meant a bubbling laugh that cast away the shadows in his heart. That meant a fascination and appreciation for all of the wonders of the world around him. That meant iron-firm determination, endurance in the face of despair, victory against the forces of evil, hope and comfort when all he that he had, all that he _was,_ had vanished.

 _Zelda._

Slowly he became aware that the little blurs in his mind were actually images his eyes were picking up. Through his eyelashes… golden lamplight that seemed painfully bright… a few faces too smudged to pick out the details, though he could tell that many had white hair…

And two green orbs, closer to his face… A warm touch on his cheek… gentle strokes on his good hand…

 _Zelda._

Along with his vision came all of the physical sensations of his body. His lower back and stomach region throbbed horribly; if he'd had the strength he would have been twisting around in bed, trying to get comfortable. It felt like… like he'd been stabbed straight through a number of times; there was pain on the inside like he'd never felt before.

And of course there was his arm, which the Sheikah around him were currently working on. His shoulder throbbed angrily, and the upper arm bone beneath it felt as if it were forcibly being broken all over again. He couldn't keep away the tears that burned in his eyes, nor could he suppress silent cries of pain.

Biting his lip, waiting for the torture to end, he tried to focus his gaze on Zelda at his side. He couldn't quite make out everything that she was saying, but… she sounded unhappy. That… that wasn't right. The Malice was gone, wasn't it? So she should be happy.

 _Gotta make her feel better,_ he thought woozily, choking on a breath as a sudden flare of sharper pain pierced his arm. _Maybe… maybe if I smile…?_

Concentrating, he forced his eyes to open wider despite the bright light he had somehow grown unaccustomed to. Though his face felt strangely sore when he did so, he forced his lips to curve into a smile and gazed into Zelda's blurry face, trying to maintain the expression even through the pain and weakness plaguing his body.

 _Just… keep smiling,_ he told himself weakly. _It'll… it'll help her…_

* * *

 **-==]V[==-**

* * *

Zelda stared at him through her tears. _What… what are you doing?_

Even as she watched, a tear dripped down his cheek and a slight shudder gripped his body.

And yet, the dazed, exhausted little smile remained upon his cheeks; his eyes continued to gaze into hers.

A thrill of terror coursed through her blood. It was the exact same expression he'd worn when uttering his final words to her a century ago. It was the same expression he'd worn after she embraced him before he left months ago to defeat the last of the silver monsters.

It was the same expression he'd worn in her nightmare of his death.

"Oh, _Link,"_ she whimpered, suddenly feeling too weak to stand. Shakily she knelt at his bedside and held his hand close, fresh tears quivering in her gaze.

It was the same expression he wore every single time he was trying to comfort her. She'd been in his presence longer than anyone else, primarily out of necessity; she had never seen him smile like that under any other circumstance.

Which meant that he was cognizant enough to notice that she'd been crying and unhappy. And despite the agony of having Dorian and Cado forcing his bones back into their correct position, despite the pain of his still-healing gashed sides, despite the weakness that came from weeks of hardly any nourishment…

Despite all that, his first thought was for _her._

 _Link, I… I don't deserve you. Paya was right - you're too kind for your own good._

When she could finally bear to meet his gaze a second time, his eyes were tightly closed, and his breathing was harsh and uneven. He was still conscious - she caught a glimpse of his eyes beneath hooded lids - but he no longer had the strength to keep up his attempt at comforting her.

 _Please be alright,_ she begged silently, stroking his wrist in her own attempt to comfort him.

* * *

 **-==]V[==-**

* * *

After his bones were finally back in their proper places and heavily bandaged, he faded once again into deep unconsciousness. There was no doubt in Zelda's mind that whatever ounce of strength he'd retained over the past weeks had been utterly spent.

She couldn't bring herself to speak that day. Not to Link, at least, despite his lack of response.

What was there to say?

Because of her, he had nearly been killed by the Calamity - _twice._

Because of her, he had lost nearly all memories of his life. Seventeen years of family, of friends, that were possibly forever lost to him.

Because of her, he had pushed himself past his limits over and over and over again.

Because of her, he had been beaten, broken, bloodied, time and time again.

 _I'll do anything for you._

No, a simple ' _I'm sorry'_ couldn't begin to make up for the agony of body, mind, and spirit she'd put him through.

 _So what can I do?_

* * *

 **-==]V[==-**

* * *

The solution struck her mind late that evening as she lay in bed a room over from Link's, and it was so absurdly simple that she cursed herself for not thinking of it sooner.

 _If I want to have a friend - or more - like Link, then I need to be the type of person he deserves to be friends - or more - with._

She stared at the ceiling, eyes narrowed as her thoughts wandered. It would not be easy. The way he treated others, the way he treated _her,_ went far beyond just being kind to them.

He _cared,_ sincerely, about nearly everyone she'd seen him encounter. No trouble was too daunting, and no grievance to trivial. Somehow, in the depths of his soul, there rested an intrinsic belief in the best that the world - and its inhabitants - could offer. A different form of love. Not romantic, but… familial.

 _If I can develop_ that _within me…_

Then, and only then, could she truly apologize to Link. " _I know I was selfish,"_ she could tell him. " _I know I did wrong, and I know that my decisions caused you to get hurt. But I've changed - I'm trying to improve."_

And they wouldn't be empty words. She could show him the results of her actions, and he would know that she was being sincere.

Peace filled her soul at the thought, and with a small smile she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **-==]V[==-**

* * *

The following morning she did not go to Link's room, as she had for the past weeks. Instead, tying her hair back, she left the inn and stepped out into the bright morning, ready to put herself to work.

Kakariko wasn't a large village, but she was determined to find some way to help _someone._

And, indeed, she realized that the instant she took a closer look, opportunities to help were everywhere.

A girl named Kokko, dancing anxiously in place before a small cooking fire, torn between ensuring that her project didn't burn and fetching the recipe she needed.

Her sister, Cottla, lonely under an apple tree as her sister prepared lunch and her father stood watch outside of Impa's house.

Cado in disarray, frantically searching for his beloved Cuccos after yet another of their escape attempts.

She ended the day by helping an elderly woman haul water to a little grove of plum trees, listening to tales of the woman's grandmother.

 _It wasn't exactly saving someone's life from a horde of monsters,_ she reflected, walking thoughtfully back to the inn with a wide yawn. _But perhaps… perhaps it still might mean something to one of them._

She entered Link's room before going to her own. He lay just as still, just as pale and thin, as he had the day prior. It had been a few weeks… never particularly broad, he was now skinnier than ever, a few ribs visible beneath his collarbones.

 _Wake up soon,_ she thought, resting a gentle hand on his cold bare shoulder.

His eyelids fluttered; a soft sigh escaped his chapped lips. But he did not otherwise stir; the good feeling that had touched her heart throughout the day faded at the sight of him so motionless.

It was still too soon after his stomach had been sewn shut for him to have anything more than water. Without nourishment soon, he would only continue to deteriorate; his strength would fade until...

Until the battle was lost.

The following morning, determined, Zelda left the inn once again, stopping first at the statue of Hylia to offer her most heartfelt prayers on Link's behalf. Then, looking around, she noticed Paya gently rubbing at several statues near Impa's house. The sight of the young woman brought a sour taste to her mouth as she remembered her biting words, but… _Perhaps I can prove to her that I'm not who she thought._

"Can I help with that?" she asked meekly, kneeling down before one of the little statues.

Paya blinked at her in surprise. "Oh - er, y-yes, if you want. I - I need to clean the lichen off of these statues." She lifted the bowl of water infused with the juices of several herbs at her side to rest on the soft grass between them and handed Zelda a cloth.

They didn't speak much. Paya, of course, rarely spoke to anyone at all, and considering the way she shifted uncomfortably from time to time, Zelda could tell she was feeling self-conscious. _Maybe because of what she said to me last time…_

 _She shouldn't feel bad about that, though. She was absolutely right._

She scrubbed hard at the statues throughout the morning, until her shoulders were stiff and her arms ached and her knees felt as if they had been locked into position. The villagers carried on with their daily lives behind her, filling the air with the calls of shopkeepers and the giggles of children, mingling with bird cries and the gentle rush of wind between the mountain peaks.

Zelda cleared her throat awkwardly, glancing sideways at Paya. "Y-you were right," she said, finally breaking the silence.

"About what?" Paya asked uncertainly, hunching her shoulders slightly.

"Link," Zelda answered sadly, returning her gaze to the statue before her. "He… he is the most amazing man this kingdom has ever seen. And it's not right, not at all, for him to bear so much pain. I shouldn't ask so much of him, and I… I want you to know that I won't, ever again. He… he _does_ deserve so much better." There were other things she wanted to say. How she hated herself for failing to recognize his devotion, for taking advantage of his kindness. How she didn't deserve any of it.

Paya inhaled deeply. "I n-need to apologize," she murmured softly. "I… I was wrong, t-too. My… my grandmother - she exp-p-plained a few things, and…" She fell silent, head bowed, gazing fixedly at the statue she was scrubbing at.

"What did she say?" Zelda asked quietly, curious, and yet guilt stole her heart yet again. _There was no need for Impa to defend me._

"L-Link can choose f-for himself," Paya said. "That's… that's what she said. Y-you couldn't - no one could - f-force him to do something. Wh-whatever happened… he _chose_ to do it."

"It's still at least partially my fault, though," Zelda protested, a leaden weight pulling her heart down. "I'm the one who _told_ him about the threat. If I hadn't done that…"

"G-grandmother told me about that, too," Paya chuckled nervously. "Sh-she said that… that there really wasn't a-anyone else who c-could do what needed to be done. Th-this land is without its military, and…" Her voice turned cold. "And you were r-right about the Yiga possibly being able to resurrect Ganon with the remaining traces of Malice. Grandmother looked into it - th-there _are_ certain rituals they could have used. Th-the longer we waited before destroying Malice, the m-more likely it would have been th-that they got their hands on some of it."

 _So… I couldn't have waited._ "But there's still the issue that Link nearly died," Zelda pointed out, biting back tears. _That he could_ still _die._ "He… he shouldn't have to go through…"

"Th-the mantle of the hero is n-not a blessing," Paya told her sadly. "I… I believe it is a - a curse. Th-the Goddesses had to choose someone they knew could b-bear that burden without giving in. And… and that's why someone as… as incredible as Link…" Her cheeks deepened to a bright crimson and she gulped audibly. "That's why his life is so terrible," she finished in a rush.

Though it certainly should have comforted to know that perhaps she had done the right thing after all, she felt all the more terrible at Paya's reasoning. "That's not any kind of fair," she murmured. "I… _I_ was chosen, too. So I should be able to share some of his burden. He… he shouldn't be the only one to suffer."

Paya faced her, eyes narrowed solemnly. "Y-you're saying that your life has b-b-been simple? Full of joy? Free from suffering of any kind?"

"I -" Zelda's breath caught in her throat.

She hated to think about it out of fear that she would be focusing too much on her own problems instead of Link's.

But her life had not been pleasurable. Years of frustration and agony of soul as she tried everything she could think of to unlock her power. Watching everyone she ever cared about _die_ because of her failures. Falling in love with her knight, only for him to bleed nearly to death in her arms, his last words a promise of unwavering dedication as his life stained her skin and dress. Fighting a century alone, trapped with a monster in the ruins of her former home, watching her beloved land fall to pieces, waiting for a glimmer of hope that might never return.

No, she'd certainly had her fair share of suffering. But because it wasn't physical, she was certain it couldn't possibly be as bad as what Link had gone through.

"He's been through much more," she told Paya at last, feeling cold. "What I have felt couldn't possibly compare -"

"You shouldn't compare," Paya blurted. "I - I mean… maybe, instead, y-you could find common ground. With him. B-because you've both gone through so much together." She tilted her head, attempting a smile. "M-maybe that's what would be best for him."

Zelda nodded slowly, contemplating. _He... he must feel horribly lonely... especially being unable to speak..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the last chapter! The next short story I have planned includes a lynel, shock arrows, and a Link with a little more confidence; I'll post it as soon as I finish the cover art!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this; thank you for reading! And a special thanks to everyone who reviewed - your support means the world to me!**

 **-==]VI[==-**

* * *

 **Anything for You**

* * *

 **-==]VI[==-**

 _Pain._

It was the first thing he was fully aware of for the first time in what felt like another century. Most of it was concentrated about his midsection; if he'd had the strength he knew he would have curled in on himself in an attempt to ease the ache.

Instead all he could do was lie still, gazing at the ceiling through half-closed eyes, feeling his arm and leg and head and sides throb in time with his heart.

He was alone, and the realization caused a stirring of fear in his heart.

He was alone. He couldn't speak, couldn't call out, couldn't raise a cry to ask for affirmation that he was not the only one left in the world.

He was alone, and in pain, and too weak to do anything more than lie still. He was thirsty; his mouth burned with the taste of blood but he had no saliva left to chase it away. He also felt immeasurably exhausted, but at the same time he was thrilled to be cognizant once again.

The last thing he could remember was teeth, and pain that didn't end.

Pain that, even now, remained in his body.

The door to his room creaked open, and his spirit soared at the sight of Zelda walking in, her features solemn. When she noticed him awake, a smile split across her face and she hurried to his side, emerald eyes gleaming excitedly. "Can you hear me?" she asked softly.

He tried to nod, managing only a weak twitch of his head. Belatedly he noticed that she had taken his hand; the touch sent shivers through his soul.

"How do you feel?" she murmured, gently stroking across his knuckles.

He opened his dry mouth to explain, then closed it again. He looked deep into her eyes, lacking any other means of communication.

 _The Malice is gone,_ he wanted to say. _You're finally safe._

Or perhaps, _How long have I been asleep?_ Or, _How am I alive?_ Or even, _I love you._

Words that he longed to utter. Words that could never leave his lips.

Instead he forced a weary smile, praying that she understood.

Tears watered in her eyes, and her own gentle smile faded into an expression of dismay. "Oh, _Link,"_ she whispered brokenly, burying her face in her free arm on his mattress as gentle sobs shook her body. "I thought you were going to _die…"_

 _I'm alright,_ he wanted to say. Focusing, he gathered his strength and dragged his left arm across his chest before letting it rest gently on her head, stroking her hair with feeble, shaking fingers.

She raised her tearstained face slightly at his touch, mournful eyes gazing into his. He held his breath - he'd never dared reach out to her like this; would she be offended? What if she didn't feel the same?

Instead her features softened and her gentle smile returned. "You… you're going to be alright," she murmured, as if realizing the fact for the first time. Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks and her shoulders sagged as she stared at him. "Link, I… I'm so sorry. This - this was _my_ fault. I should have _waited;_ I should have… I should have done something else. I ask… _far_ too much of you... without doing _anything_ for you in return. I've been horribly selfish - _Link, I'm sorry."_

He stared at her, baffled. _Selfish?_ That hadn't been it at all. That wasn't _her_ at all.

His mind was made up - he couldn't stay silent any longer. With a grimace he slowly raised his left hand, trembling violently from weakness, and mimed the action of writing with something, but she frowned at him.

"You don't understand," she murmured brokenly. "You'll just say something to get me to think it wasn't my fault. But it _is -_ you've given up so much in life, all because… because of _me._ And that's not right or fair at all."

He shook his head as fervently as he could manage, but she was getting up; she was going to leave _\- have to tell her she's wrong - I would do_ anything -

With a desperate gasp he summoned every last ounce of his strength and lunged out of bed, falling pathetically to the floor with a rather painful thump, twisted in the sheets.

Zelda whirled around, stunned. "Link! _Why would you do that?!_ Any movement could reopen the wounds inside of you! You - you -!" Her voice softened. "Are you alright?"

Breathing hard, he slammed his eyes shut, humiliation and pain burning his soul. His mind wavered from the sudden rush of blood to his head; his temples pounded as if struck by a Goron's fists, muddling his thoughts.

"...Link?"

He heard footsteps drawing nearer and knew that the Princess had reached his side.

"Please; open your eyes. Are you alright?"

With a pained sigh, he raised his gaze to meet Zelda's concerned emerald eyes. She knelt at his side and reached out hesitantly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I… I need to get Purah," she told him anxiously, wringing her hands with concern. "Try not to move too much, alright?"

His grasp on consciousness was fading with the last of the strength he'd summoned. Feebly he nodded, letting his head flop weakly down on the floorboards, trying to anchor himself to reality by focusing on Zelda as she stood, turned, walked away, left the room…

And then there was just pain. His body ached from his ill-fated attempt to keep the Princess from leaving; his knee was the worse off, seemingly splintering apart into fragments of white-hot agony. His middle wasn't much better; it throbbed in time with his heart, and he could feel something wet oozing into the many layers of bandages wrapped around him.

 _Sweet Nayru,_ he thought, a drop of horror trickling through his heart. _She said… she said wounds_ inside _of me…!_

Nausea coiled in his gut, not helping with the pain in the least, as his pulse skyrocketed in a panic. _What if I've reopened them?!_

He'd done it to get to _her…_ but, nevertheless, it had been a stupid thing to do. And he lacked the strength to look down, to see just how bad the damage was - his sense of touch was all that he had.

He didn't know how long he'd been lying on the ground when Zelda finally returned with Purah and Dorian with her. The pain had eased somewhat, but it was still present, as always, along with the sting of humiliation; Purah's exasperated chuckle didn't make it any better.

"My _goodness,_ Linky - what happened here?" she trilled, smirking as she whipped out the Sheikah Slate and danced her fingers across it surface.

Dorian hurried to his side, gently untangling the sheets from his middle to get to the bandages over his stomach. A soft sigh of relief escaped his lips. "You're lucky, lad." With a grunt he carefully lifted him back onto the mattress, careful not to shift the sheets tangled around his waist. Then, eyes narrowed, he withdrew a knife from his belt and carefully sliced through the bandages, sliding them from around Link's hollow stomach. His features darkened.

"Nothing inside has split," Purah reported, studying the Sheikah Slate. "Surface damage only."

Zelda's shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank Hylia," she murmured, once more kneeling at Link's bedside. "Does anything… need to be…?"

Dorian sighed heavily. "A few stitches have popped. I'll… boil some water and be right back."

Link swallowed tightly, nausea still curdling in his gut. Hearing them discuss his wounds…

He'd had no idea it was so bad.

In his weakened state, the pain from having his side stitched together again seemed cruelly worse. His grip on consciousness wavered with each burning jab into his skin; he lacked the strength to struggle and instead lay still, breaths strained as he closed his eyes, focusing on an imagined vision of Zelda smiling at him gently…

With a particularly sharp prick of the needle his eyes flashed open again; his breath stilled in his lungs and his gaze found Zelda's… and she was smiling at him, gently, hopefully, just as she had in his imagination, as she held his uninjured hand in her own. He focused on that touch, used it to anchor himself to reality, but even so, his consciousness swiftly faded away, everything going numb and dark and empty…

* * *

 **-==]VI[==-**

* * *

Another week passed, and Purah confirmed that he'd healed enough on the inside to handle small amounts of food. Only with Zelda's help was he able to sit up straight, and even then he had to lean against the wall behind him.

Over the days, the weeks, that followed, the hollow spaces beneath his eyes and cheekbones, and the shadows beneath his ribs, slowly faded. His bones and skin healed; the gashes in his back and chest closed completely, leaving dark red lines that would soon become scars. Gradually his strength returned, until at last he could walk around his room with relative ease and the aid of an old staff (his injured knee was proving much more difficult to heal).

He was desperate to truly get back on his feet, to return to his active life, but Zelda urged against doing so, pleading that he wait until his body had fully healed.

Another two weeks and he went outside at long last, slowly making his way through the village. Limping at the pace of a snail's crawl past Impa's grand house, past the Goddess Statue perched upon her island in the little pond, finally reaching the little graveyard overlooking the kingdom, leaning heavily on the weathered old staff. His heart pounded abnormally fast for such a little walk, and he was painfully aware of the numb weakness firmly gripping his limbs, and the strange sensation of not quite getting enough air…

Two months had passed, all told, since his confrontation with Naydra. _Perhaps even a little more than that._

The thought clouded over his soul. He didn't want to know just how much of his time since awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection had been spent recovering from grievous wounds, but he knew it was much more than he would've liked. Beneath the simple cotton shirt and trousers hanging from his still-underweight form, his skin was a unique (and, in his opinion, morbid) map of his life.

Arrow wounds. Burns caused by fire, ice, and electricity. Stab wounds. Bite marks. Gashes. Nearly every type of injury possible was there, somewhere, on his body.

All at once - perhaps because of the lingering weakness in his body - he felt unbearably exhausted. Sagging, he slumped back against the graveyard's tree, slowly sliding to the grass and burying his head in his hands, dropping the staff at his side.

Hyrule was saved. Zelda was saved. His task was complete. And yet… he felt miserable.

A tear trickled down his cheek, much to his surprise. After all, it was over… wasn't it?

The pain. The blood that spilled from his body over and over and over again. Screams and howls of agony ripped from his throat, and now, more recently, strained and rasping breaths without voice. The stress, the pressure, crushing down on his shoulders. The trauma, the terror, the uncertainty. Not knowing if he would live through the week, not knowing if he would succeed and save his Princess…

The loneliness.

Cold. Drenched in rain, sometimes snow. Or the opposite - dizzy and drowning in his own sweat, trekking through deserts or over hard volcanic stone.

Alone.

Pressing shaking fingers to his side, or his leg, or wherever he was currently injured, trying desperately to stem the flow of blood. Scouring his own wounds with boiling water to clean them. Weeping, mourning the loss of friends left behind; though a century had passed since their deaths, recovering memories made him feel like he'd lost him only the day, the hour, the minute, beforehand.

Alone.

Even after Ganon was vanquished, none of that had ended. In fact… with the loss of his voice, it worsened, if anything. Travelling again, for months on end, alone, to prevent the return of darkness.

And (so he hoped) to prove the depth of his devotion to _her._

He'd done it all for her. And… he knew that he would do it all again, should there be a need, despite the toll it had taken on his body, spirit, and mind.

It had seemed, for the longest time, that his feelings were entirely unreciprocated. His heart ached with uncertainty as he stared blankly at the weathered statues in the graveyard. _Is there hope at all?_

If she didn't care… well, he would continue on as he had. His desire to do absolutely anything for her would not wane; the only difference would be that his feelings would torture him endlessly instead of brighten his soul with hope.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, thinking back over the past weeks and months of recuperation, searching for something, _anything,_ that would finally restore or douse the little spark of hope within him.

Her relief, quickly followed by a torrent of tears, when he finally awoke.

Her shock and fear when he lunged out of bed to keep her from leaving.

Her dedicated concern for him as the days went on and he spent more and more time awake.

 _She cares._

The realization collided with his soul like a ton of bricks, and his breath caught for a moment. _She cares about me._

 _I think._

The notion brought warmth to his soul, chasing away the cold ache of loneliness that had plagued him since waking up in the Shrine so long ago now.

"Link!" Footsteps brushed quickly through the grass. Zelda dashed towards him, emerald eyes alight with worry. "I… I _had_ hoped you wouldn't go so far from the inn…"

He smiled softly at her, his heart accelerating in her presence. He shrugged - the only response he could make. With a tinge of sadness he realized that his first instinct was no longer to try speaking out loud. _I've… accepted what's happened to my voice._

Exhaling deeply, Zelda sat down beside him, entwining her fingers in the soft grass. "Link, there's… there's something I need to tell you. And, honestly, I find it appalling that it's taken me this long to notice, to understand, but…" She floundered for a moment, lips parted, a look of intense concentration and desperation twisting her features, as if she was searching for the right words but couldn't quite find them. "Well… you're the most incredible man I've ever met. You're every inch the hero everyone wanted - _needed -_ you to be, but… that's just the problem. We - _I_ \- began to see you as just that - a hero. A some _thing,_ and not a some _one._ Something… something empty, something I could _use_ to fulfill my expectations. And… and for that, I am truly sorry."

It was suddenly difficult to breathe. He stared at his hands, struggling to swallow, feeling an ache in his heart unlike any other. A stark, painful contrast to the hope that had blossomed, thrived, before she began to speak.

 _Everything… everything I did for her… for_ her…

 _She didn't even see me as a person, but as a… a tool? A slave?_

He bit his lip as hard as he could, trying to force back the sudden tears burning in his eyes. All at once he was grateful his voice no longer worked; he knew he wouldn't have been able to hold back a whimper. His breaths were coming more raggedly than before; surely she could hear, but he wished she couldn't…

"Link, I'm _sorry,"_ she repeated, sounding close to tears, avoiding his gaze. "I… I don't expect you to forgive me, but… I _have_ changed. I don't see you in that way anymore, and I wish I never did. And… I've been trying to treat others better, as well - the way I thought _you_ would treat them."

He inhaled deeply, struggling to calm his emotions. _She's sorry,_ he told himself, over and over again. _She's sorry. She's sorry. She said she isn't that way anymore._

And he knew it to be true. He'd seen it in the way she tended for him throughout the past months, in the way she looked at him and spoke with him…

She _had_ changed. Which certainly soothed the ache in his heart, but did not dispel it entirely.

He lifted his head to regard her, and slowly she raised her eyes to his. A tear burned in her eyes; her cheeks were flushed with guilt and shame. "You deserve so much more," she murmured hoarsely. "Why… _why_ did you do it? _Any_ of it?"

He swallowed thickly. _Because I'm in love with you._

 _I'd be in love with you even if you had me fight until I died, or was imprisoned and tortured, or..._

 _The problem is, I can't exactly say any of that,_ he realized, slightly frustrated, as he mimed the act of writing something down.

But she wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead she'd clasped her hands around her knees and stared at them fixedly, a few strands of hair hanging over her eyes.

Link's heart thumped louder. So… words weren't an option. His mouth went suddenly dry as another way to convey his thoughts occurred to him. And it terrified him.

 _She'll hate me for sure, won't she?_

 _At the very least she'll slap me._

He swallowed thickly. _But I don't have any other options, do I?_

Nothing came to mind. There weren't nearly enough twigs lying on the ground for him to arrange into letters, and the grass was too thick for him to be able to trace his thoughts into the dirt...

Zelda turned to him again, her features limp with confusion and despair. " _Why?"_ she asked again, another tear trickling down her face.

Link inhaled shakily, looking into her eyes. _Farore, give me courage!_

He reached out with a trembling hand, brushing the tear from her cheek. Surprise widened her eyes and she stared at him as he leaned closer. At the last moment his nerve failed and his lips landed on her cheek instead of their intended destination, and swiftly he backed away, his face aflame.

She didn't slap him. She didn't look angry. No - she looked utterly baffled. _Din, preserve me…!_

"Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice barely more than a breath.

His shoulders sagged. Yet another question he couldn't very well answer directly. Wracking his mind, biting his tongue in concentration, he placed both hands over his heart before holding them out to her as if offering something.

She stared for a moment more and shook her head. "Link, I… that's the problem. I… I _know_ you're dedicated, and loyal to a fault, but… _why?_ What have I done to deserve your loyalty?"

His shoulders slumped. This wasn't working. He looked away, chewing his lip, trying to think of some other way to describe his feelings.

"For Nayru's sake - _he's trying to tell you he loves you!"_ Purah squealed, marching towards them.

Link jumped out of his skin, startled. He hadn't noticed her approach at all.

Zelda clapped a hand to her heart. " _Purah!"_ she scolded, her voice suddenly a higher pitch. "I - I told you I wanted to speak with him _alone!"_

The little Sheikah scientist smirked mischievously. "And you did. For a while. But I got bored waiting. And anyway, what's the point of talking to him if the poor guy can't even say anything back?"

"I -" Zelda stopped, frowning. Purah giggled and slipped the Sheikah Slate from her hip, handing it to Link. He nodded his thanks, quickly navigating to the blank screen he'd used before.

"I wasn't thinking about that; I'm sorry," Zelda finished with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Link."

He shrugged, writing as quickly as he could before handing her the Slate, his heart pounding harder than ever as he watched her read.

 **I've been in love with you as long as I can remember. I told you I'd do anything for you, and I meant it, and I mean it still. You're determined, and brave, and strong, and intelligent, and you never give up. That's why I've given you my dedication, my loyalty, and my heart.**

His mouth was completely dry by now, and his heart was fluttering so rapidly it might as well have belonged to a hummingbird. He could barely breathe - cold anxiety gripped his body, sending a tremor down his spine.

At long last she set the Slate down, but she didn't meet his gaze. "Even… even though I treated you… the way I did… for far too long?"

He let his good hand rest on her shoulder, prompting her to turn. Gazing into her eyes, he nodded slowly, solemnly, wanting her to know, to understand. _It hurts to know that you felt that way once. But you aren't that way anymore - I know it. And even if you were… I still couldn't help myself from feeling this way._

Another tear trickled down her cheek, and this time when he brushed it away she took his hand, gently holding it in place as, almost imperceptibly, she leaned slowly closer.

Purah leaned forward teasingly. Zelda turned away, eyes narrowed. "Don't you have a lab to return to?" she asked, irritated.

The little Sheikah rolled her eyes, feigning frustration. "Oh, _fine,"_ she whined. "Take the fun out of _everything."_ But she was giggling as she walked away.

Zelda turned back to him, and his breath stilled once again. Her eyes were still slightly narrowed, but… it wasn't anger that lit their green depths. "Link, I… it took far too long for me to realize… that I was being so unfair to you. But… but I hope you believe me when I say I've never regretted anything more than that. And when I say… I love you, too."

And then she was suddenly much closer; her arms were curled around him and her lips had meshed with his and it was all he could do to realize that this wasn't a dream - it was happening, it was _real,_ and she was kissing him passionately. His good hand, still cupping her face, could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she blushed, and he could tell from the fire in his face that he was blushing furiously as well.

Far too soon (although he _did_ need to breathe) she pulled away, her eyes glimmering with determination. "I don't want to leave your side ever again," she whispered, as if realizing for the first time. "I don't know where the future will take us, but… I will go with you everywhere. I… I want to show you that I would do anything for _you,_ too."

 _I'm grinning like an idiot,_ some rational part of his mind was telling him. He barely cared.

The knowledge that someone in this world cared for him _that much…_

He could understand caring for someone else that way. Such a feeling had been in his heart for every moment of his life still that he still remembered. But to think that she who he loved cared for him the same way…

It melted away all of the sadness, all of the pain, all of the fear, all of the loneliness clinging to his soul.

He kissed her again, and this time he felt no anxiety about doing so. With a soft sigh she seemed to soften against his lips, tangling her fingers in his hair as he held her as close as he could. _I will do anything for you._


End file.
